


Overdue Notice

by Erisabesu (ErisabesuFic)



Series: Konoha Public Library [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't judge a book by its cover, Drama, Homelessness, Humor, KakaYama Week 2020, M/M, Misunderstandings, Romance, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, public library
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24220354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisabesuFic/pseuds/Erisabesu
Summary: "It was just another day at the library."In which Tenzou is a librarian, and Kakashi is a particularly strange library patron. This is the first part of their (long, drawn out, ridiculous) love story.Written for KakaYama Week 2020 Day 1!
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Yamato | Tenzou, Hatake Kakashi/Yamato | Tenzou
Series: Konoha Public Library [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748185
Comments: 32
Kudos: 75





	Overdue Notice

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hi! Happy Day 1 of KakaYama Week 2020! :D
> 
> Quick note on ages - In general characters are aged according to Shippuden during the Fourth Shinobi War, so Tenzou is 28, Naruto is 17, etc. There are a few exceptions: Hana is 30, Tayuya is 32, and Deidara is 24.
> 
> Note: A floorplan of the library can be viewed here: [Konoha Public Library](https://erisabesufic.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/konohapubliclibrary.png)
> 
> Please enjoy this utter and complete self indulgence that is how I express my love for kkym!! ♥

**“Overdue Notice”**

♦

It was just another day at the library. Tenzou was tutoring the usual group of teens on their math homework in the somewhat rowdy Teen department, when he heard his office phone ringing. He instructed the kids to try problem seventeen again, and then excused himself, jogging past the other homework tables to his office. He lunged across his desk and snatched the phone receiver from the cradle right before it went to voicemail.

“Konoha Public Library, Tenzou speaking?” he said quickly.

“Hey it’s me, Shizune.” 

Shizune supervised the main computer lab. Tenzou glanced at the caller ID and saw that she was calling him from the lab’s service desk up at the front of the library. “What’s up, Shizune?”

Shizune sighed dramatically. “It’s that guy again, you know the one? I need you to come here and tell him to — to _behave_!”

This last she said through clenched teeth. Tenzou grimaced, and leaned his hip into the side of his desk. “Well did you try talking to him?”

“No! He’s here and he’s, well, not following the policy again. It’s causing a problem, can you just come talk to him?”

He pressed his lips together. “He’s homeless, Shizune, not dangerous. You can talk to him the same way you’d talk to any other patron not following policy.”

“But you don’t understand!” she hissed into the receiver. “The Director left with both of the Assistant Directors for the City Council meeting, or I’d ask them, but anyways the guy seems to listen to you, Tenzou, so can you please come?”

“I’ve got a department full of teens, here,” he reminded her. “Rin is on her dinner break and this is the busiest time of day–”

“–That’s why Kurenai’s on her way,” Shizune cut in. “They’re slow over in adult services and Yuugao said she could spare Kurenai for a while. She’ll be there in a minute to cover your area, so can you please come? Please?”

Tenzou sighed; he didn’t really mind helping, but he disliked being manipulated like this. Not all of the librarians were good with teens, so it wasn’t really an even exchange, but there wasn’t much he could do about that now, or maybe ever. 

“Okay, I’m on my way. But this is the last–”

“Thank you!” she interrupted, and hung up. 

Tenzou placed the receiver back in the slot, and sighed again. He tapped his pants pocket to check for his office keys and then locked the knob and pulled the door closed behind him. 

He took a look around the department to check for any issues before Kurenai arrived. There was a group of kids playing Yu-Gi-Oh at the oversized table by the shelves of manga, and on the other side of the service desk another group was engrossed in a Mario Kart tournament. A few other teens were engaged in tutoring with community volunteers at the square homework tables. 

The two boys Tenzou had been tutoring were starting to mess with each other, while their pink haired classmate sat there giggling behind her hand. Tenzou approached this group and cleared his throat for effect. 

“You three settle down,” he intoned, knowing they could go from teasing to an all out rumble in the blink of an eye.

“But he started it!” said Naruto, the blond loudmouth who was currently in a growth spurt, pointing at the boy beside him.

“Hn,” replied his classmate, Sasuke, swatting Naruto’s finger away. Naruto pointed with his other hand, and Sasuke swatted that hand too. They continued this back and forth a few times until Tenzou put his hands on his hips.

“Sakura!” He addressed the third member of the group in a sharp tone, who jumped when her name was called, along with Naruto and Sasuke who halted and stared at him with surprised eyes.

“Y-yes?” She straightened up in her seat, and somehow shrank down at the same time. 

“You’ve got a good head for math, so you look over what Naruto and Sasuke have come up with for problem seventeen, okay?”

She blushed and then preened, angling her chair closer to her teammates. “I’ll try,” she said. Naruto brightened, while Sasuke’s body language remained bored.

“And no funny business,” Tenzou warned. “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going, Mr. Yamato?” Naruto asked.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Tenzou said, moving towards the Teen department doors. “If you need anything, Ms. Yuuhi will be here in a moment.”

As he opened the door, Kurenai strolled in, high heels clicking on the linoleum. 

“Hi, Tenzou,” she said, with a light wave of her fingers that flashed her gaudy engagement ring. Her eyes dropped down his torso critically and then she smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Nice cardigan.”

“Thanks, It’s a sweater-vest,” Tenzou corrected mildly, eyeing her habitual chic pantsuit which, in his opinion, was overdressed even for an adult services librarian. She passed him and sat down at the teen service desk near the tutoring tables. 

“You’re _always_ in a sweater vest, Mr. Yamato,” Naruto pointed out bluntly. “Like _every_ day.”

“A sweater vest is timeless.” Tezou sniffed, then he straightened his sweater-vest unconsciously. “Anyways, Kurenai, they’re all yours, be back in a moment.” 

He waved and slipped through the doors, which closed on Sakura’s voice chastising Naruto, and Naruto’s loud complaints in response. 

This typical exchange brought a half-smile to Tenzou’s face as he headed through the adult services section, and on towards the main circulation desk. His department catered to a tough age group, and he dealt with a lot of troublemakers, sure, but he truly loved being a teen librarian.

He turned right at the corner by the circulation desk and waved at Kotetsu and Izumo at their stations as they helped patrons with their checkouts. The main computer lab opened up across from circulation on the left, adjacent to the main lobby. Tenzou went into the lab, noting that it wasn’t too busy yet for late afternoon, estimating maybe twenty-five patrons scattered across the hundred and twenty stations the library provided.

Shizune was behind the service counter, shifting from foot to foot in distress. She pointed exaggeratedly across the many rows of computer stations to the back corner, where Tenzou could just make out the silhouette of the recent regular homeless patron, Mr. Fields. Sure, the old man acted up now and then, but was otherwise harmless — he didn’t get why his colleagues seemed to have so much trouble with him.

Tenzou gestured at Shizune to calm down, then gave her a reassuring thumb’s up. He walked calmly past the other patrons scattered through that section of computers, and down the aisle where the man in question was hunched in front of the computer at the end of the row. Mr. Fields’ multiple layers of clothing worn day after day gave him a bulky look, but generally he didn’t have much of an odor for a homeless man, which was something of a relief. 

There on the floor by his feet lay the backpack and a canvas tote Mr. Fields carried with him everywhere he went, along with an old-fashioned carpet bag with a wonky handle that made Tenzou think of _Anne of Green Gables._

This was in part because Mr. Fields also had the same whimsical air as the famous literary heroine–Tenzou had once caught him washing his socks in the courtyard fountain at the front of the library, three layers of pants and long-johns rolled up to his calves and his pale bare toes splashing in the water in child-like delight. At that point, the October days hadn’t quite turned from fall to winter, so the man wasn’t in danger of catching a chill. But the chemicals in the fountain water were harsh, and Tenzou didn’t want anything to compromise the man’s health, or — god forbid — cause him to slip, fall, or otherwise hurt himself on City property. The paperwork alone would be a huge pain in the ass. 

Tenzou’s corduroy pants and brogues had gotten splashed and ruined in the process of getting the man back out of the water and onto the sidewalk, then over to a nearby bench so he could dry off. But after that experience, Tenzou had sort of started looking out for the old guy whenever he could, which was one of the reasons he got called out of the teen department so frequently to deal with him.

Tenzou shook his head at the random memory, and approached the man at the computer slowly. Today, at least, Mr. Fields was sitting off by himself and wasn’t crowding any other patrons or being a nuisance. 

Mr. Fields’ outermost layer was an olive green canvas hunting coat with thick sherpa lining, worn over a navy blue hoodie, with several shirts underneath. He had on the usual American flag bandana that covered most of his left eye, and the white allergy mask he habitually wore was snug on his silver-bearded face. There were white cords running from the computer tower to the earbuds in his ears, so Tenzou pitched his voice a bit louder than normal.

“Mr. Fields?” Tenzou came up near the man. He glanced at the computer monitor and then sighed. 

On the screen there were two ladies and one gentleman engaging in overtly pornographic acts that were clearly _not_ allowed to be viewed on public computers as per library computer use policy. 

Tenzou now understood why he’d been called by Shizune — it was much easier to some extent for a man to address this type of issue with a male patron than for any of the female staff, and he felt a bit guilty that he’d assumed she just didn’t want to deal with a difficult situation. 

He’d learned early in his career not to grab or pat library patrons of any gender to get their attention, and instead maintain an appropriate distance, as people could react unpredictably. But this was especially important to keep in mind when it came to homeless patrons who could be Veterans with varying levels of PTSD, and who would likely overreact to being surprised. 

“ _Mr. Fields_ ,” Tenzou raised his voice, knocking his knuckles on the computer table and waving a hand to get the man’s attention.

“Hah?” Mr. Fields’ head shot up and he looked around wildly with his one eye. When he recognized Tenzou, he pulled out his earbuds. 

Tenzou waved to greet him, but then glowered down at the man, and opened his mouth to deliver a reprimand — but the man spoke first.

“Ah! Yamato!” Mr. Fields said, laughing and swiveling his chair around to face him, which tugged the earbud cords right out of the computer. 

The computer lab flooded with an unmistakably triple-X musical soundtrack complete with passionate “oohs” and “aahs” and squelching noises at an embarrassingly high volume, and Tenzou froze in shock for a moment.

“Whoopsie-daisy,” Mr. Fields said, and began hitting random keys on the keyboard to turn it off, which was ineffective, to say the least. Tenzou finally regained his stunned senses and darted his hand to the mouse, closed all the browser windows, and returned the room to the usual silence.

“Nice work,” Mr. Fields said, grinning beneath his mask and clearly finding the whole thing hilarious. “You’re so good at this computer stuff.”

Tenzou colored around his shirt collar, trying to ignore the scandalized expressions on the patrons and employees around them in reaction to the disturbance. 

“Mr. Fields, you have been warned about this kind of thing bef–”

“–Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” the old man waved him off, “But I don’t even know how that got there, I was just trying to get to my email and something popped up on its own, I didn’t even click anything.”

“Mr. Fields…” Tenzou sighed. 

“It just happened on its own! Honest!” The man insisted, holding up both his hands in denial, showing the palms of his fingerless gloves. The left one had a splotch of what was probably an old dab of mustard. 

Tenzou crossed his arms. “Mr. Fields, you know that adult content of that sort is not permitted on library computers.”

Mr. Fields sighed and leaned back in his chair dramatically. “Are you kicking me out?”

“Of course,” Tenzou said, matter of fact. 

“Ahhhhh, give me a break,” Mr. Fields complained, swiveling his chair around and around in circles, pouting. “I still have an hour left for today.”

“You broke policy, and you know the computer lab rules, Mr. Fields.” Tenzou stood firm, though he did feel a bit bad for the guy. How else was someone in his situation supposed to connect with the outside world, or have any sense of normalcy, than by coming to the library for computer and internet access? 

He couldn’t imagine what the man had been through over the years to wind up spending his days at the public library, with no family and nowhere to call home. But that didn’t give him permission to abuse library policy and watch _porn_ in the middle of the afternoon.

Tenzou put his hands on his hips. “ _Mr. Fields._ ”

“Okaaaaay, fiiiiiiiine.” The man slid his chair to a stop, rolled his eye, and started to collect his bags. “It was an accident beyond anyone’s control, but I understand, you have your rules and all. Do what you gotta do, Yamato.”

Tenzou softened a little, a half-smile tugging at his mouth, but he still had to uphold the policy. “You can take a break from your, er, email, and then you can use the computers again tomorrow, Mr. Fields. No one’s kicking you out of the library entirely.”

Mr. Fields slung his backpack and tote bag over one shoulder, and then hoisted the carpet bag off the floor. He looked at Tenzou for a long moment, then tapped the side of his gloved fist against Tenzou’s chest.

“You’re the only one here who’s nice. But you’re actually too nice, you know.” he said. Then he looked Tenzou up and down. “That sweater vest looks good on you, is it new? The golds and browns go well with the blue button-down shirt. What kind of pattern is that–argyle?”

Tenzou couldn’t help chuckling, amused. “Yeah, it is. Thanks.” 

The homeless man shrugged. “Well not everyone can pull off a sweater vest, including most librarians. Wouldn’t catch _me_ dead in one, but I’m no fashion icon, either.” 

With that Mr. Fields laughed heartily and ambled down the row of computers, his oversized bags shaking with the bulk of his shoulders.

Behind him, Tenzou colored in utter embarrassment. A _homeless_ man had just questioned his fashion style. Naruto or Kurenai’s comments aside, maybe it was time for a wardrobe change.

He escorted Mr. Fields out of the computer lab, nodding to Shizune as they passed, who gave him a grateful smile and put her hands together in thanks.

“I’ll just go over to the newsstand and read today’s papers,” Mr. Fields said, shooting Tenzou a glance. “Unless I’m banned from print media today too?”

Tenzou started to answer that of course he was welcome to read the newspapers, when he realized the man’s eye was sparkling, and the white allergy mask had twitched in mirth. 

Tenzou smiled. “Stay out of trouble, now,” he said, giving a wave. 

“Yes, yes,” said Mr. Fields, offering him a salute. 

They parted ways at the Reference desk, where Tenzou saluted fellow department supervisor Yuugao, and hurried back to the Teen Department and whatever chaos awaited him.

♦

Tenzou first met Mr. Fields in September when he’d wandered into the Teen department mid-morning on a weekday, quite the strange sight with his wild gray hair, cock-eyed bandana, and allergy mask, along with his layered jackets and multiple bags. 

It was right after the school year had started, so the department was fairly empty, just a couple of homeschooled siblings using the teen department’s 12-station computer area to work on their homework. 

“Well, well, well,” the homeless man said to himself. He looked around the place like it was a toy store, or a museum, or a zoo — expressing something like awe in the part of his face that could be seen, and emitting the occasional “wow…” and “oooooh…” and “uwahhh….” as he moved from one area to the next.

Tenzou had been seated at the service desk in the middle of the department, working on some reports while it was quiet, and he kept a keen eye on the man while he roamed about the department. There was something about lone adults wandering into the teen department that triggered Tenzou’s protective instincts and made him alert for anything suspicious. 

After a few minutes had passed, and the man seemed to be without a purpose, Tenzou stood and moved around the desk. “May I help you?”

“Oh, I’m just exploring, taking it all in,” the man had said, offering a benign smile that turned his visible eye into a crescent. “I’ve never been way back here in this part of the library before.”

“Sure,” Tenzou smiled back, but remained wary. “Feel free to look around. If there’s something you’re looking for, or want to check out, I’m happy to help. But just so you know, adults are welcome to browse and borrow materials, but they are not permitted to loiter in the teen department indefinitely. This is a space for teens.”

The man acted surprised to hear this. “Are you serious?” He gave an exaggerated sigh, and then wilted. “And I was just thinking that I wanted to live here in this beautiful place forever and ever.”

“Pardon?” Tenzou frowned.

The man gestured with his half-gloved hand, pointing at the shelves of manga and DVDs, the gaming systems and special gaming furniture, the colorful throw rugs and bean bag chairs, the anime themed decor on the walls along the ceiling, rows of funko pop figurines on the tops of the bookshelves and a variety of artwork of superheroes and ninjas created by teens during that year’s summer reading program.

“I finally make it to Neverland, and you tell me I’m too old.” The man’s posture slumped further as he continued to look around, expression wistful. “Story of my life.”

Tenzou felt a pang in his chest, sympathizing with this man who looked like he’d been hardened by decades of survival under conditions perhaps no one could fathom, and had very little to look forward to at this point in time. 

“As I said, you’re welcome to browse the collection and borrow materials,” he said, voice gentle. “We’re not too busy right now, so take your time. I’ll be right here if you need help.”

Tenzou pointed with his thumb to the service desk behind him, and the man nodded once. Then Tenzou went back to his seat, keeping the man in his peripheral vision, while he continued to work on the monthly statistics reports. About ten minutes later, the older patron came around to the front of the service desk and set down a stack of three multicolored manga.

“Did you say I could check these out here?”

Tenzou looked up, noticing the man’s height for the first time now that he was sitting down. When not slouching he was quite tall, and from this angle Tenzou saw a glimpse of a soldier in the way the man carried himself. That plus the bandana suggested he was probably a Veteran. His hair and beard beneath the mask were fully gray, so, Gulf War, he thought, putting the man in his early to mid sixties.

“Sure, I’ll check those out for you,” Tenzou replied, smiling. He shifted his paperwork to the side and pulled the stack of manga a bit closer. “I just need your library card.”

The man slung his backpack onto the counter and unzipped one of the compartments. Tenzou noticed the backpack had been through a lot over the years. There were a few patches from national parks all over the country sewn randomly on the canvas wherever there was space, as well as one for the Roswell UFO Museum, and one for Area 51. Tenzou’s mouth quirked in a smile, but he quickly smoothed it out to remain professional.

“Here you go,” the man said, passing him the card.

Tenzou thanked him, scanned the card and handed it back to him, then picked up the first of the manga. His eyes widened ever so slightly at the title — he’d never reveal any personal reactions to the items any patron borrowed, as that would be disrespecting patron confidentiality, but he couldn’t help finding it curious that this particular patron would choose the first three volumes of _Sailor Moon_.

Tenzou scanned all three items and desensitized them so they wouldn’t set off the door alarms, and tucked the date due receipt into the cover of the first volume. 

“You’re all set. They’re due in three weeks, but we’ll send you a reminder email a few days before…” he glanced at the man’s account still on the computer screen. “… Mr. Fields.”

Mr. Fields smiled. “I appreciate it,” he said, taking the manga. Then he held out his right hand, clad in a fingerless glove. “I didn’t catch your name, Mr. ….?”

Tenzou stood up to shake his hand properly. “Yamato,” he said, returning the man’s firm grip. “Nice to meet you.”

Mr. Fields gave him a casual once-over, a cryptic expression on his face, not entirely negative, but not exactly positive. “Nice cardigan. You’re a librarian?”

Yamato’s eyebrows slid together. He ignored the comment on his attire, and said, “Yes, I’m the librarian in charge of this department.”

“I see,” said Mr. Fields. “There aren’t many men on staff, I’ve noticed.”

Tenzou frowned. “Well, it’s true that the profession has more women in general, but you’ll find that we treat all genders equally at this library. Director Tsunade Senju is one of the best librarians I know.”

Mr. Fields chuckled. “No offense meant, just an observation.” He began to put the manga away into his backpack. “I’ll stop back by when I finish these.” He zipped the backpack and patted it before slinging it over his shoulder with his other bag.

“See you next time,” Tenzou nodded.

“See you.” Mr. Fields gave a small wave, locking their eyes for a moment. Then he turned and exited the teen area.

Tenzou sat down in his work chair, and leaned back, finding the whole encounter a little odd… but definitely not the oddest he’d ever had in his years of working at the public library. In any case, he’d be thrilled if a homeless veteran like Mr. Fields could find some support and happiness at the library in these trying times.

♦

Mr. Fields started coming to the library on a daily basis, staying from opening until nearly closing like most of the other homeless patrons. 

Tenzou got used to seeing him in different spots around the building whenever he left the Teen department for meetings or other duties. Sometimes he was reading the newspaper, sometimes camped out in a seating area and socializing with some of the other regular homeless patrons, sometimes snoozing in an armchair by himself in the Genealogy section. Sleeping in the library wasn’t allowed, but Tenzou tended to overlook it unless the man was snoring, which could disturb other patrons. 

Every couple of days or so, Mr. Fields would come by the Teen department to pick out new manga to read, and would sometimes stop and exchange pleasantries with Tenzou at the service desk while having his books checked out. When Tenzou’s part-timer, Itachi, came to relieve him for lunch, Mr. Fields would walk together with Tenzou out of the Teen area and across the library until they parted ways by the Circulation desk, where Tenzou went to the staff-only section by library administration to eat his lunch in the employee lounge, and Mr. Fields went whichever way the wind blew.

On one such day, Tenzou returned from his lunch break and let Itachi know he’d be in his office for a while until his afternoon meeting. Itachi held out a post-it with a phone message, and Tenzou paused at the desk to read it. 

“How was your lunch?” Itachi asked. He inclined his head and gave Tenzou an indecipherable look.

Tenzou thought about the tuna fish pita sandwich he’d brought, and shrugged. “It was fine I guess.”

“What does Mr. Fields eat for lunch?”

“I have no idea,” Tenzou answered. “Why do you ask?”

“You don’t know what he eats?”

Tenzou looked at Itachi curiously. “No, why? Do you? Is it something weird?”

Itachi shook his head once, and then looked down at his folded hands beside the computer keyboard, deep in thought. After a moment he looked back up. “I was curious about you eating lunch with a patron, but if you are not sure what he eats, I must be mistaken.”

Tenzou’s brows shot up. “I’m not eating lunch with him, I eat in the lounge. What gave you that idea?”

Itachi’s face remained blank. “I’ve noticed he comes by the department around your lunch break several times a week. Then you leave together.”

Tenzou felt a bit uncomfortable, hearing this. He waved it off. “It’s just a coincidence. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“Understood,” Itachi commented, nodding once to conclude their conversation.

“Er… Thanks for covering the desk,” Tenzou said. “I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”

Tenzou walked towards his office, a little perplexed. The conversation with Itachi was a good reminder that in any workplace, people were always watching everybody else, and this was especially true for supervisors. Not everyone was as sharp as Itachi, of course — Tenzou hadn’t even noticed there was a pattern of Mr. Fields stopping by around his lunch hour. But now that Itachi had pointed it out, it was up to Tenzou to make sure there couldn’t be any rumors of favoritism or the like circulating around the library, and to make sure the staff schedules were not overly predictable, for safety. 

But as he thought about this, something else bothered him. What _did_ Mr. Fields do for meals, anyways? 

Thinking back, he’d only ever seen the guy with the occasional snack you’d find at a gas station, or drinking free coffee from the coffee cart up by the “Friends of the Library” bookstore in the lobby. 

Did he go to the nearby fast food places? Where was the cheapest food? How did the man pay for things? Was he one of those people standing at street corners and begging for change when he wasn’t at the library?

For that matter, where did he go when the library was closed? Where did the man _sleep_?

Tenzou sat down at his desk, mind swirling with questions that tugged at his guts for answers, though he knew it was none of his business, and it would be best to stay out of it. There was only so much he could do — he was a mere City employee and public librarian.

He looked down at the post-it in his hand, the message from earlier. He picked up the phone to return the call, and tried to put his worries out of his mind for the time being.

♦

Prompted by the conversation with Itachi, Tenzou rearranged the desk coverage schedule for the department, and changed his lunch hours to a random rotation to make it less likely that any patron — not just Mr. Fields — could lie in wait for him for any reason. 

Between the college student part timers, Itachi and Shisui, and the full time Teen assistant, Rin, who was halfway through her Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science, the staff coverage was actually better with the new schedule, offering all of them the protection from being targeted by a patron, an ex, or even a persistent acquaintance. 

Tenzou frowned at the word “targeted,” feeling it was a bit harsh to say Mr. Fields had targeted him, when it was probably just an old man needing some attention now and then. But he couldn’t let that sympathy cloud his judgement about keeping the department running smoothly or protecting the staff. The Teen department was a closed off space at the back corner of the library building, which could easily attract an ambush.

For the next week or so, he saw Mr. Fields a bit less frequently, but still had a few chances here and there to chat briefly or help him find new manga to read. Tenzou started surreptitiously checking for any signs of malnutrition or poor health, but from what he could tell the guy was eating properly and taking care of himself to an acceptable degree for his situation. 

Tenzou had thought everything was going well with Mr. Fields, and that their interactions had become more professional, and more balanced, until one day when he was working in his office, he sensed a looming figure taking up all the space in the open doorway.

Tenzou faced his visitor, surprised but not exactly unhappy to see Mr. Fields. He braced himself for the unexpected as Mr. Fields was blocking the only exit from the room, essentially cornering him, literally, in the furthest corner of the whole library.

He fixed a smile to his face. “Mr. Fields, what can I do for you?”

“Hmmmm,” the man said, openly eyeing Tenzou’s office from wall to wall to wall, and ceiling to floor. “So this is where you take refuge to do your work.”

Tenzou nodded. “Yes, this is my office, as it says on the door.”

“Right, right,” said Mr. Fields, laughing awkwardly and touching the back of his neck. “I notice you have plants in your window there. They’re very nice.” He pointed at the row of small containers lined up on the sill of the office’s single window.

Tenzou brightened. “Thank you. I work indoors so I like to keep a little bit of nature nearby.”

“I’ve always liked philodendron,” his companion continued. “Did you know it also puries the air?”

Tenzou met his gaze, reappraising, and then looked at the plant in question. “Actually, yes. I did.”

Mr. Fields gave a long sigh, and then a self-deprecating laugh. “Of course you did.” He gestured to Tenzou. “ _Librarian_.”

Tenzou couldn’t help chuckling. “Well we do tend to know a lot about a lot of things.”

“Then you’d make an excellent spy.”

Tenzou laughed. “I don’t know about that.”

“Well you can keep it in mind if you’re ever thinking of a career change,” said Mr. Fields. 

“Will do.” He watched Mr. Fields studying the other plants in the window. “Do you like plants, Mr. Fields?”

“Sure.” Mr. Fields gave a shrug. “But I like dogs better.”

Tenzou leaned forward, intrigued. “Interesting, I didn’t know you were an animal person.”

“Well I am,” he said. “But it’s… a bit hard to take care of my dogs right now. I miss them… more than I thought.”

Tenzou’s brows met above his concerned expression. “I see.” He hadn’t thought about how being homeless might affect pet ownership. That it could mean surrendering pets to other homes, or to the shelter, was very sad.

“They are all in good hands now, though,” Mr. Fields added quickly. 

Tenzou smiled. “That’s good to hear.”

An awkward pause settled in the room. Tenzou wanted to ask more about his dogs, in case he wanted to talk about them, but also didn’t want to continue a topic that was probably upsetting, and very personal to the old guy.

“Well was there anything I could help you with?” Tenzou finally asked, trying to get the conversation back to business.

“No, it’s alright, I shouldn’t keep you.” Mr. Fields waved his gloved hand. “I got what I came for.”

“Eh?” Tenzou said, but the man had already smiled and disappeared from the doorway. Tenzou got up from his desk and went to his office doorway before Mr. Fields could get too far.

“If you need some new manga, Shisui can show you the new ones we just got in!” he called.

Mr. Fields raised his gloved hand in acknowledgement, but didn’t turn around. Tenzou watched him walk away for another few moments and then returned to his desk. He looked at the philodendron on the window sill, and touched the closest heart-shaped leaf, appreciating the breath of fresh air before attending to his daily computer workload, and trying not to worry about the burdens of the heart carried by a certain library patron.

♦

Tenzou stood high up on a ladder, affixing holiday ornaments to the top of the Teen department’s enormous Christmas tree. Personally he thought putting the tree up now was a little premature; it was only November tenth, still over two full weeks to Thanksgiving. But the City had decided all departments would decorate now, and thus explained his current position and task.

He’d put it off until his weekly closing shift, and while he had such a good vantage point he also tried to keep an eye on the group of teens at the gaming stations on the other side of the service desk. This time of year the teens could get restless and–

Naruto suddenly flung open the double doors to the Teen Department and burst inside, cutting off any other thoughts in Tenzou’s mind.

“Naruto!” scolded Rin, standing up at the service desk, until she saw how upset he was.

Naruto looked wildly around the department, then finally spied Tenzou up on the ladder and came running over to him. “Mr. Yamato! Mr. Yamato!” 

“Wait, I’m coming down,” Yamato said, holding up a hand so Naruto would give him some space as he came down the ladder, one arm full of decorative baubles.

“There’s a fight!” Naruto said, dancing from foot to foot. “These people are yelling over in the lobby, and it’s _real_ loud–”

“– _Rin_ ,” Yamato cut in, and met Rin’s eyes. She nodded and picked up the walkie-talkie and called for the security guard to report to the lobby.

Tenzou clambered down the ladder as quickly as possible and set down the remaining Christmas decorations he was holding in his arms into the plastic tub on the floor. 

“Naruto, thanks for letting us know,” he said, and patted the boy on the back to reassure him. “Rin, radio circulation that I’m on the way. There’s no Admin in the building this evening, so I’ll go provide support.”

“Got it,” she said.

“Naruto, stay here for a while, ok? Where are your friends?”

Naruto shrugged, “I think they’re on the way here, we were at the front checking out DVDs.”

“Okay good, wait for them here and I’ll be back soon. Good job getting help.”

Naruto nodded, and Tenzou exited the Teen department and headed up to the front of the library. He caught sight of Sasuke, Sakura, and her friend Ino on the way back to Teens, looking more curious than anything else, and he nodded to them, gesturing for them to hurry along.

As he passed the checkout desk, Circulation supervisor Anko called out to him. “The police are on the way. I’ll take care of everything back here,” she swept her arm grandly to indicate practically the whole library.

“Got it,” Tenzou acknowledged, gesturing that he’d go up front, and kept moving as he could now hear the raised voices Naruto reported. 

It sounded like the argument was coming from the far end of the rectangular lobby. He moved quickly in that direction, wanting to try and assess the situation and de-escalate it as smoothly as possible. 

In the front section of the lobby he saw Iruka, one of the Children’s services librarians, standing between the library cafe and the row of doors at the main entrance, asking patrons and curious onlookers to keep at a distance and continue passing through the lobby into the library proper. 

Tenzou exchanged a glance and nod with his friend and colleague, and spotted the source of the incident — a group of adults arguing near one of the meeting rooms at the end of the long lobby hallway. 

He could see two women and a man in their late twenties or early thirties, and thought he heard another man at the center of the altercation, but the portly security guard blocked part of his view. The guard was hovering near the argument, small pudgy hands making calming gestures that were clearly ineffective when gauged by the high volume of multiple voices shouting at once. 

Tenzou moved closer, but hung back about ten feet from the group, not wanting his presence to add any tension to the situation, but he was worried things would get out of hand — the negative vibe was off the charts and it seemed things would explode at any moment. This wasn’t exactly part of his library or supervisory training, either, and he didn’t want to do anything that could make the situation worse.

Then the security guard shifted position and Tenzou caught sight of the fourth participant at the back of the group, a man with unmistakable unruly silver hair and a bulky, oversized olive coat. 

Tenzou’s stomach sank — why was _he_ there?

Tenzou approached slowly, interpreting the gist of the argument through the overlapping shouting. The angered man was apparently married to one of the women (Tenzou thought it was the brunette, who looked the most frightened) and had come there to demand that she go with him, but the wife’s friend had other feelings on the matter. 

“Fuck that, she’s not going anywhere with you!” said the friend with blonde hair. She pushed the man’s chest, and he smacked her hand away. 

The brunette woman called out, “Yugito!”

When the guy lunged to push Yugito away, Tenzou rushed forward automatically to intervene — and so did Mr. Fields, who was actually close enough to put his body between the two others and block the strike. The angry husband’s hands thumped instead on Mr. Field’s chest, but did not budge him one inch. 

“You heard the lady,” said Mr. Fields, his voice low and dangerous, a timbre that Tenzou had never heard from him before. He was relieved to see Yugito and the brunette take the opportunity to slip out of the husband’s reach. 

“I need you all to calm down,” said the security guard, still waving his hands, but everyone ignored him.

“Get the fuck out of my way,” roared the man, forcefully shoving Mr. Fields again with both hands.

“Hey!” Tenzou called out, rushing forward.

Mr. Fields angled his body and neatly sidestepped out of the way, more nimble than one would expect from his frumpy appearance. The husband stumbled forward off-balance, arms flailing, and Mr. Fields gave him a neat chop to the back of the head, not hard enough to injure, but hard enough to be completely humiliating.

“The lady said get lost,” said Mr. Fields, as the husband careened into the lobby wall and then swiveled around, completely enraged.

Tenzou moved forward and quickly ushered the two women behind him, and then several things happened at once: 

The doors on the other end of the lobby opened and two uniformed police officers entered the scene.

The husband let out a riotous cry, launched himself at Mr. Fields and socked him right in the nose with his clenched fist. 

The guard shouted, “Stop!” and charged at the husband, as Mr. Fields went down flat on his back in a heap of clothing on the lobby linoleum.

Tenzou’s gut clenched, caught between wanting to help Mr. Fields and his instinct to protect the two women, but for a moment nobody moved, the husband huffing and red-faced, the women clutching each other in shock, and Mr. Fields groaning from the floor to complete the dramatic scene. 

Then the police officers rushed into action, the one with a bowl cut seizing the angered husband from the inept security guard and securing him in handcuffs, ignoring all of the man’s complaints.

The other officer with shorter, spiky black hair asked, “Who’s in charge here?”

Tenzou found his voice in all the chaos. “I am,” he said, almost wishing he hadn’t volunteered for the role.

Then Mr. Fields groaned, coughed, and tried to sit up, limbs sprawled and flopping on the floor, his white allergy mask slowly turning red with blood.

“Mr. Fields!” Tenzou went to his side and knelt, helping the older man to sit up. “Here, let me–”

“–Urgh, I’m fine, I’m _fine_.” Mr. Fields swatted his hands away, and Tenzou backed off, but remained beside the man while he unhooked one side of the white mask from his ear, blood dripping from the cupped edge onto the front of his coat. His full silvery beard was spotted and matting with the blood gushing from his nose in twin trails over his mouth, which he wiped perfunctorily with the back of his gloved hand, smearing it over his whiskered chin. 

Tenzou clenched his teeth to see the state he was in. The two women came over to Mr. Fields, asking if he was alright, the blonde offering him some napkins from her purse. Mr. Fields waved them off, but accepted the napkins and pushed them to the center of his face. Tenzou thanked them, listening as the police officer was speaking brusquely into the radio on his uniform, requesting an ambulance. 

“I don’t want an ambulance!” Mr. Fields barked, swaying to one side as if disoriented. Tenzou grabbed the man’s shoulders to keep him steady until he regained his balance.

The officer looked down at the homeless man, dismissed him, then directed his gaze to Tenzou. “An ambulance is on the way.” 

Tenzou nodded as Mr. Fields began to protest again, and then the officer moved to address the women nearby, when they were interrupted by an angry shout. 

“Fuck you! This isn’t over you bitch!” the handcuffed husband roared, struggling to get closer to the brunette woman. “I won’t let you leave, do you hear me Ayame? You’ll never get away–”

“–That’s enough, get over here,” the bowl-cut officer said, manhandling him away from the group. “I’ll take this one downtown, Obito!”

The black haired officer nodded his confirmation, and the rest of them looked at each other in the silence.

“I’m going to need a statement,” the Officer said to the group of them. “So I have to ask all of you to remain here for a few minutes.” Everyone nodded, and the officer turned to Tenzou. “Is there a room we can use?”

Tenzou made sure Mr. Fields was sitting up okay on his own, then he fished out his work keyring and got to his feet. “Yes, Officer…. Obito, was it?”

“Officer Uchiha,” the officer corrected.

“Right, Officer Uchiha. There’s an empty meeting room here.” Tenzou unlocked the door, and propped it open. 

“Thanks. We’ll start with you ladies,” the officer directed, ushering them into the room.

Tenzou returned to where Mr. Fields was still sprawled on the floor, blood soaked napkins on his face quickling saturating in what looked like a macabre Rorschach test. Tenzou fished out his handkerchief, knelt, and offered it wordlessly to the old man. Mr. Fields looked up at him, probably intending to refuse, but Tenzou glowered at him the same way he kept unruly teens in line, and the man took it. 

Then Tenzou looked around the lobby, seeing the onlooking patrons dispersing under Iruka’s competent direction. Tenzou made eye contact with Iruka, and waved him over. 

“What do you need?” Iruka asked.

“Do you have enough coverage in Children’s to stay and help out here?”

Iruka nodded. “Yeah, tonight is Konan’s family origami program, and Suzume’s at the desk.”

“Okay. Can you get the closest first aid kit, and bring it here?” Tenzou asked, and Iruka nodded, jogging away towards the Children’s department. 

Then Tenzou returned his focus to the man on the floor. “Are you hurt anywhere? You had quite a fall…” Tenzou said, watching Mr. Fields, who was scooting over to one of the lobby benches. 

Mr. Fields only harrumphed in response, using the bench to pull himself to his knees. The process was awkward, but Tenzou didn’t interfere — he thought it important for seniors to have autonomy with the tasks they could still accomplish with their own power. Mr. Fields pulled his upper body onto the seat, and then got his knees under him, and in an agonizing process was able to get unsteadily to his feet. Miraculously none of the blood dripped onto the furniture or the floor.

Tenzou hovered, not touching Mr. Fields’ arm, but he wanted to be on hand should he need anything. “Let’s get you cleaned up in the men’s room before the ambulance is here, alright?”

“I told you, I don’t want an ambulance!” Mr. Fields complained, still holding Tenzou’s handkerchief against his bleeding nose.

Tenzou signed, making pacifying gestures. “It’s just a formality, Mr. Fields, to make sure you’re not hurt.”

“Hah,” Mr. Fields snorted, and then groaned. “This is nothing.”

Iruka came their way, holding up the first aid kit.

“Thanks, Iruka,” Tenzou said, taking it from him. “I’m going to take him into the men’s room, can you keep an eye on the meeting room and let the Officer know where we are?”

“Sure,” Iruka smiled. “I’ll report the situation to Anko, too.”

Tenzou smiled, clapping Iruka on the shoulder in thanks. Then he focused his attention on Mr. Fields, gesturing towards the lobby restrooms. He expected he might have to drag the man, but Mr. Fields followed him solemnly into the men’s room.

Tenzou set the first aid kit on the counter, and put on a pair of medical gloves, then sorted through the contents for gauze and other items. Mr. Fields moaned, resting against the row of sinks and tilting his head back to stop the blood. 

“Got any pain meds?” Mr. Fields asked.

Tenzou glanced over to him. “There’s some aspirin here, but I think we need to get you cleaned up and see how bad it is. Your nose could be broken.”

“Oh it is,” said Mr. Fields. Tenzou looked up quickly.

Mr. Fields chuckled, shrugging like it was nothing. “Not my first rodeo,” he said, standing up and facing the sinks. 

Mr. Fields put down the dirty handkerchief on the edge of the sink, and Tenzou watched while he took some paper towels from the dispenser, and wet them, then placed them over his nose and cheeks. He took a deep breath, and then quickly set the break with a resounding crunch and pop that made Tenzou flinch.

Afterwards, Mr. Fields sighed, groaning into the paper towels. “That should do it,” he said. He gave a few tentative blows to clear his nostrils, and groaned again, dramatically. 

Tenzou went to the other dispenser and pulled out a wad of towels, then wet them in the sink. He held them out to Mr. Fields, who threw out the dirty ones and accepted the clean ones without comment. 

“You’ve had a lot of broken noses, then?” Tenzou couldn’t help asking, strangely impressed and also a little worried at how blasé the man seemed about the whole situation.

“Not recently,” the man chuckled. “But once upon a time, I suppose.”

Tenzou couldn’t quite read his expression, but the man before him seemed amused, almost proud. Tenzou shook his head, the unexpected fright of seeing a senior citizen get punched and wind up on the floor, right there in the library, a little too fresh. 

These things weren’t supposed to happen at libraries — they weren’t supposed to happen at all.

Tenzou cleared his throat. “Mr. Fields… Please don’t take this the wrong way. What you did tonight was brave, but it was also very dangerous — next time you should let the security guard handle things, or come get me, or report it to the front desk.”

“Fuck that,” Mr. Fields said, surprising Tenzou by going all-over intense, and locking their gazes. “I won’t stand idly by when there’s a domestic violence case right in front of me.”

Tenzou felt his body tensing up as well. “I think I probably agree with you, but… that’s… that’s not necessarily the whole story. It’s for the police to decide.”

Mr. Fields spat some blood into the sink. “Bullshit! I’ve seen it often enough, that guy needs a restraining order, and if I hadn’t been there it could have been that sweet lady who got punched instead. Would that have been better, huh?”

“Of course not!” Tenzou scoffed. “That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Well I’m saying that I won’t stand idly by when there’s someone in danger if I can do something about it.”

“And I’m saying don’t be unnecessarily reckless,” Tenzou replied, crossing his arms. “You think I want to see you get hurt? You’re important too, you know.”

Mr. Fields pressed his lips together, which still had blood from his mustache dripping down the corners, but the man seemed to soften a bit, and when his intense aura receded Tenzou felt his nerves start to unwind a little in response. 

The old man shook his head. “Good grief. You’re such a tender heart, Yamato.”

Tenzou let out a laugh. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“You probably cry about how the honeybees are dying off, don’t you. I bet you have five hives in your backyard, trying to do your part.”

“Har, har,” Tenzou said, preparing more wet paper towels for him. “Beekeeping is a noble and worthwhile activity.” 

“So you do have hives.”

“Not at the moment, no.” Tenzou held up the package of gauze. “We should put some gauze to stabilize the area, and help stop the blood,” he suggested. 

“Well aren’t you just a perfect boy scout, Yamato.” 

Yamato gave him a wry smile. “I won’t deny it.”

“Probably an Eagle scout, huh.”

“Of course,” said Tenzou. “I like the outdoors, I like to serve my community, and I like to complete the things I start.”

Tenzou rolled up the square of gauze, and passed it to Mr. Fields, who carefully twisted it up his nostril. When both sides had been more or less plugged up, Tenzou wet some more paper towels, and reached towards the old man’s beard where some blood was starting to dry. Before he made contact, Mr Fields held up his hand, and gently took the towels from him. 

“Is that why you became a librarian?” Mr. Fields asked, holding Tenzou’s gaze. “Community service?”

Tenzou thought about this, and glanced down at his shoes for a moment. “Yes, I guess you could say that. I had a… rough time growing up. The librarian in my hometown was the first adult to reach out to me, and that made a huge difference. Put me on a better path. That’s why I decided to work with teens. If I can help them in any way, even if it’s a small thing, and give them a safe space for a refuge, or whatever they need it to be, like a lifeline, then maybe I can pay back the librarian and all the other teachers who have helped me get here. Or that’s what I believe, anyways.”

It wasn’t often that he was asked about his career choice, but for some reason he had felt comfortable enough to share. Mr. Fields smiled, briefly, but didn’t comment. Tenzou dropped his gaze, and it landed on Mr. Fields’ hands.

“You’ve got blood on your gloves, might want to rinse them off,” Tenzou said. “Not sure about your coat for the moment.” He gestured towards the smears and drips that had fallen onto the olive coat and the navy hoodie underneath.

Mr. Fields waved him off. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, stripping the gloves from his hands and turning on the sink, rinsing them a few times until the water ran clear again. 

“By the way, Yamato,” he said, wringing the gloves to remove the excess water. “Is that glitter on your sweater vest?”

Tenzou gasped in surprise, looking down at his forest green and gray sweater vest to see that indeed, it had a layer of magenta, silver, gold, and white glitter on the surface, the same colors as the Christmas tree in the Teen department. 

“Oh my god…” he said, rubbing at the glitter ineffectively with the latex gloves. 

Mr. Fields chuckled, taking some dry paper towels and squeezing them around his wet gloves to dry out most of the water. 

“It’s from the tree ornaments,” Tenzou said, feeling sheepish. “I was decorating the Teen department tree before all this happened.” 

“It’s a good look on you,” Mr. Fields said, laughing and watching Tenzou in the mirror. 

Tenzou looked back at Mr. Fields, eyebrow raised at his blood-streaked face and beard from uneven cleaning with the paper towels, wads of white gauze stuffed up his nostrils, and hair even more wild than usual. 

“Wish I could say the same,” he said flatly. 

“Oooo, sarcasm. I like it.” The older man kept laughing, and then Iruka came into the restroom, looking between the two of them in curiosity. 

“Er… is everything okay?” Iruka asked.

Tenzou nodded. “Yeah, we’re almost done here. How’s everything out there?”

“Well actually…” Iruka hesitated. “We’re starting the closing procedures, the ambulance is here, and Officer Uchiha says he needs to take our statements pronto. And Anko has the incident report paperwork for you to fill out.”

Tenzou just managed not to groan out loud, and checked the time on his fitbit–it was later than he’d thought. 

“Got it,” he replied. “Be right there.”

Iruka gave him a worried smile and then exited the restroom.

“What about those pain pills?” Mr. Fields asked, pointing to the first aid kit. “Can I have them now?”

Yamato fished around in the kit, hearing the water turn on in the sink next to him, and found a single-dose packet of Aspirin powder. “I’ll give you one of these, but that’s the limit. You should get checked out by the EMT’s.” 

“I told you I’m _fine_ ,” the older man grumped.

“Sure, and I’m telling you to let them do their job. You don’t have to go anywhere with them, although if they wanted to take you to the hospital I’d feel better if you went.”

“Not a chance in hell, I hate hospitals,” Mr. Fields said, emphatically.

Tenzou held his hands up in surrender. “But at least let them make sure you’re going to live, okay? That’s kind of important.”

“Ha, ha. If I must,” said Mr. Fields, rinsing out Tenzou’s blood-soaked handkerchief, though it was probably permanently stained. He twisted and wrung out the handkerchief, and Tenzou held out his hand to accept it back.

“Not so fast,” Mr. Fields said, wrapping the wet fabric into some dry paper towels and tucking it into an inner pocket of his coat. “I’ll have this laundered and returned to you soon. Thanks for lending it to me.”

“Sure,” Tenzou said. He was doubtful that he’d ever see it again, but willing to go out on a limb that the old guy meant well, at least. He closed up the first aid kit. “Ready to give your statement?”

Mr. Fields tucked the handkerchief bundle into his overcoat pocket, and sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Tenzou followed the man out of the restroom and into the lobby, where Iruka was standing with Officer Uchiha, who was talking with two EMT’s. Outside, the ambulance was parked a bit past the main doors, lights flashing in a circular pattern through the adjacent parking lot. 

Tenzou waved the EMT’s over. “Hey, this person is in need of some medical attention–”

“–Quit treating me like an invalid,” Mr. Fields swatted Tenzou’s arm away.

“You said you’d let them do their job,” Tenzou reminded him, ushering them closer. 

“I thought the Officer here needed statements,” he retorted, making shoo-ing gestures at the EMT’s.

“Sir,” said Officer Uchiha. “Do you intend to press charges?”

“Damn right I do!” barked Mr. Fields. “That bastard is going to get what’s coming to him.”

The EMT’s approached Mr. Fields. “Officer Uchiha, we should get started with the examination.”

The officer gave a curt nod. “Go ahead. I’ll get his statement when you’re done.”

The EMT’s escorted Mr. Fields out through the main lobby doors, complaining all the way, and then Tenzou heard the sound of Anko’s combat boots approaching. 

“Ah, there you are! Tenzou!” She waved a handful of papers in Tenzou’s direction. Tenzou’s shoulders slumped remembering he’d have to fill everything out and fax it to the City’s Risk Management department before he left that evening.

Then Anko caught sight of Officer Uchiha, and lit up with a toothy grin. “And who do we have here!” She put her hands on her hips, her trench coat fanning out around her, leering openly at the police officer. “Long time no see!”

“Ma’am,” the Officer smiled and nodded, eyes glinting with interest as he gave her the once-over. 

Tenzou’s brows lifted. 

“When I issued your library card back in August I thought I’d see you long before now, you know, what gives?” She cocked her head, teasing him.

The Officer cleared his throat. “Right now I’m on duty, ma’am. My apologies.” he replied, turning over a page in his small notebook and scribbling something on it, before tearing out the sheet, folding it, and passing it to Anko. 

Tenzou’s eyebrows climbed as high as they could go. He and Iruka made eye contact, wearing twin expressions, and shrugged.

“Hmmm,” said Anko, taking the paper and glancing inside, then tapping it coyly against her cheek. “I don’t know, maybe I should hold out for the deets of that super hot friend of yours, the silver fox — is he with you tonight?” She made a show of looking around.

Officer Uchiha frowned, and stood up a little taller, puffing out his chest. Before he could reply Anko giggled, and then gave him a flirty wink. 

“Or maybe _you’ll_ do just fine,” she said, giving him a long, thoughtful look before turning away back to her department, long coat swishing behind her.

Tenzou looked from the Officer’s smug smirk, to Anko’s retreating form, bewildered. Then he realized she still had the paperwork in her other hand.

“Anko, wait up!” He said, jogging after her. 

Once he had the paperwork, he noted Officer Uchiha walking with Iruka down the lobby to the meeting room to get his statement. Tenzou was relieved to find that the women involved in the incident were still there, looking a bit shaken and standing by the cafe. He asked how they were doing, and they said they were willing to give him their information for the City’s incident report, even though they’d just been interviewed by the police officer, for which he was extremely grateful.

When they finished up, he gave each of them his business card in case they needed anything in the future. The two women thanked him, and said that they planned to go talk with the sweet homeless man who had helped them earlier. Tenzou waved as they left the library lobby and headed out towards the ambulance and the flashing lights. He was glad they had each other for support, after such a disturbing experience, and hoped whatever words of gratitude they said to Mr. Fields eased the pain of his injury somewhat.

About that time, the five minute closing announcement piped through the intercom. Anko and Konan appeared, doing their part of the closing routine by making sure everything was going smoothly, and letting any patrons entering the library know it was closing time. Tenzou looked around the lobby, realizing that Mr. Fields’s carpet bag and other belongings were nowhere to be seen — where could he have left them?

“Tenzou!”

Tenzou turned at the sound of his name, and found Iruka coming towards him.

“I’m all done, so it’s your turn,” Iruka said. 

Tenzou saw Officer Uchiha standing by the meeting room door, waiting. “Okay. Hey, did you happen to see where Mr. Fields’ stuff got to? He usually has three bags–”

“–Oh yeah, I put them by the lost and found until things settled down,” Iruka said, “I’ll go take them out to him now.”

“Sounds good,” Tenzou said, very relieved. “Then I’ll go give my statement. Thanks for all your help tonight.”

“No problem!” Iruka smiled, squeezing his arm briefly. “Rin’s aware of things and has your department under control. We got this!”

Tenzou smiled, feeling very lucky to have such fine friends and colleagues. 

The interview with Officer Uchiha felt very quick, but when they finished up, and Tenzou had the Officer’s card and the police report number to turn in with his paperwork, it had been a full twenty minutes, and the library was completely empty and dark. 

The parking lot was also empty, save for the lights of the ambulance which were still on, but no longer flashing. Tenzou’s stomach clenched, hoping that was a good sign.

Tenzou escorted the Officer to the front doors and the vestibule, where he could just peek between the forms of the EMT’s to see that Mr. Fields was sitting on the bumper of the ambulance, an ice-pack covering most of his face. 

Tenzou paused, his hand on the door. “Officer Uchiha? I wonder if I could ask you for a favor?”

The Officer waited expectantly. 

Tenzou coughed. “Mr. Fields… the man who was struck?” He nodded towards the ambulance. “He’s probably missed the bus by now, and actually I have no idea where he goes when the library closes, or how he gets there…” Tenzou scratched the back of his head. “Do you think you could take him wherever he needs to go? I mean… protecting the citizens, and all that? Is that possible? I’d hate for something else to happen to him tonight, after everything.”

Officer Uchiha’s expression never changed, but Tenzou got the feeling he may have asked something inappropriate. 

“Once I get his statement for the report, I’ll make sure he gets somewhere safe.”

Tenzou nodded. “Thank you.”

“Let your Director know that a detective will be in touch in the next couple of days to request the security footage, and follow up.” 

“Will do.” 

The Officer held out his hand, and they shook. Tenzou pushed open the door, and the Officer left, walking purposefully over to the ambulance. Tenzou rolled the incident report papers in his hand and tapped his palm, trying not to be overly distressed. 

By the time he’d typed up his notes and faxed copies of the paperwork to the City, and retrieved his coat and knapsack from his office, the cleaning crew had arrived and the library lights were all on once more. Tenzou waved to the crew on his way out into the empty parking lot. 

There was no ambulance, no patrol car, just the vehicles belonging to the cleaning crew parked in the fire lane by the side doors.

Tenzou drove home, exhaustion settling into his bones after the evening’s unwanted excitement, and from wondering if Mr. Fields was taken to the hospital after all, or somewhere else by the police officer. The lack of closure about the man’s well being sat like lead in his stomach for the rest of the night.

♦

The next day, Mr. Fields did not come to the library.

This worried Tenzou considerably, but he didn’t have much time to dwell on it as shortly after the library opened, the Director called a mandatory supervisors meeting for an after-action report and debriefing. This was typical for any unusual incident, and the fact that a patron had been assaulted on library property certainly qualified.

The meeting started out with Shizune’s report, as the altercation had started in her department. Her lab assistant, Mozuku, had first noticed the disturbance, and the story unfolded from there. What started as a simple piecing together of events somehow slowly turned into a discussion of Mr. Fields’ behavior in general and his unfortunate tendency to cause minor problems around the library since he’d first appeared a few months back.

“Now hold on,” Tenzou said. “He rushed to defend a woman whose husband, or ex-husband, more likely, was threatening her and her friend. And he suffered great personal harm doing it, I might add. We should be praising him as a hero, not bashing him for being homeless and sometimes a bit difficult to deal with.”

“Well _you’ve_ sure become pretty attached,” chuckled Anko.

“He deserves some compassion, like all our patrons,” Tenzou retorted.

Yuugao spoke up next. “Hmmm. He sometimes sleeps in the Genealogy section, but it doesn’t really interfere with our work or with other patrons in Reference. My staff just ignore him unless he’s asking for books or other materials. He’s no trouble, unless there’s some kind of squabble with the other homeless patrons who monopolize the couches by the newspapers.”

“He’s not a problem for Children’s,” Konan said.

“That’s because he never goes into Children’s, _lucky you_ ,” Shizune said, offering a dramatic sigh. “I wish he hated computers as much as he hates kids.”

“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” Tenzou said, frowning.

“He sure doesn’t like them much, that’s for sure.” Anko replied. 

Tenzou folded his arms. “He’s kind, and wouldn’t hurt a flea. He’s never been a problem in Teens either.”

Yuugao inclined her head. “Well, I don’t think he likes crowds or noise that much. When we have big programs he goes to the lab where it’s quieter. Has he ever dropped by Teens when school’s out, and your department is full? I’ve only seen him heading that way late morning or after lunch.”

This caught Tenzou a bit off guard, making him shift in his chair. She was right, and he’d never noticed. “That doesn’t mean–” 

“–He’s just a nuisance, any way you look at it!” Shizune interrupted. “If I catch him watching porn one more time…” Shizune brandished her clenched fist. “Director, I really think it’s time to revoke his computer privileges or ban him altogether–”

“–Wait just a minute!” Tenzou sat forward. 

Assistant Director Inuzuka raised her hand to calm the group. “He’s not at the level of banning, yet, Shizune. But I’ll be glad to have another word with him about the computer use policy.” Her eager smile showed all her teeth, and the rest of them sat up a little straighter in their seats. 

“Nah, Hana, don’t forget I called dibs on giving him the next warning,” Assistant Director Tayuya grinned at Hana, matching Hana’s toothy grin. She planted a fist into her palm for good measure. 

The Director sighed. “Listen up. The man has quirks, yes, but I don’t want to hear of anyone harassing him, got it? Let him be, but if there’s anything serious bring it to me and I’ll handle it personally. Understood?”

Everyone murmured assent, and Tenzou relaxed a bit, knowing he could trust her.

Tsunade stood and moved to the long dry erase board in the conference room. “Now let’s not get distracted from the topic at hand. Last night there was a complex incident, an altercation between several patrons. Should something like that happen again, how can we handle it better? Can it be prevented? Are our procedures effective? Speak up with your ideas.”

She uncapped a marker and waited expectantly for their input, and this brought everyone into focus. 

Tenzou raised his hand. “I think our security guard is … lacking.” 

“He’s incompetent,” said Anko. “He had no idea how to handle the situation, and this contributed to its escalation.” 

Several in the room nodded and agreed while Tsunade began writing on the board.

“We should look into the contract with the security company,” Hana chimed in. “See if we can request better qualifications or make a case for a more experienced guard, especially now that there’s been a serious incident.”

“Okay, this is a good start,” Tsunade said. “What else? Keep the ideas coming.”

The discussion continued from there, and an hour later, the meeting concluded. Tenzou was glad to return to his department and pick up where he left off in decorating the Christmas tree, although this time, he stayed on the ground to spare his navy and black sweater vest, while Shisui and Itachi climbed the ladder and arranged the ornaments. They managed to avoid most of the glitter, but not quite all of it, which was amusing when trying to shake it out of each other’s hair. The tree looked beautiful, though, and the hint of festive spirit helped Tenzou ignore the continued absence of a certain library patron.

♦

Two days later, while on his way back to the Teen department from a meeting, Tenzou spotted Mr. Fields for the first time since the incident in the lobby. He was alone in a study room, and he looked so normal and at home just sitting there that Tenzou rushed over to say hello. 

As he got closer he noticed two things — first, that Mr. Fields had a large white splint over his broken nose, the skin bruised and purple around the edges, and second, that he was eating cold corn right out of a can with a plastic spoon.

Tenzou burst out laughing, unable to help himself from the relief that Mr. Fields was okay, and okay enough to be breaking library rules again while he was at it. 

He went over and knocked on the door, a grin on his face. Mr. Fields looked up, startled. When he saw who it was at the door he made a valiant effort to hide his can of corn behind his backpack and hastily put his allergy mask back on. Tenzou waited, and waved, pointing at the doorknob and asking for permission to enter, though they both knew he had a key.

Mr. Fields slumped, no way to deny that he’d been caught eating in a no-food-zone, and finally motioned for him to come in. 

Tenzou took a seat at the study table, and couldn’t stop grinning at the frumpy old man before him, cock-eyed bandana, layers of coats, wild hairdo and all. The blood on his coat from the other night had washed out almost completely, he saw, and the man’s gloves looked none the worse for wear.

“ _What_?” Mr. Fields asked after a moment, fidgeting under Tenzou’s gaze. “Are you kicking me out?”

Tenzou shook his head. “No. Just wondering if you have any food allergies.”

The man inclined his head, and regarded Tenzou with suspicion. “Why do you ask?”

“Or are you on any special diets?” Tenzou asked. 

“Are you interrogating me? It was one can of corn, one time! Just this once!” 

Tenzou laughed. “No, I just want to know what you like to eat. Besides corn.”

Mr. Fields crossed his arms. “Are you asking me out to dinner or something?”

Tenzou’s brows shot up. “What? That… er… actually…” 

He now felt mildly alarmed, because he hadn’t meant it that way at all, and worried that he’d inadvertently gotten the old man’s hopes up. Taking a patron to dinner, even a homeless and hungry patron, was beyond unprofessional, it was inappropriate.

“Ahhh, forget I asked, Yamato,” said Mr. Fields, waving it off. “Just messing with you. No, I have no allergies, no special diets, but I don’t care for sweets or spicy foods. There, happy now? You’re not planning to poison me or something, are you?”

“Ha,” Tenzou chuckled. “Not likely. You’re not lying about the food allergies, are you?”

“Why would I do something like that?”

Tenzou smiled. “Mr. Fields, dinner is not an option, I’m sorry, but I was actually thinking of bringing you something else as a surprise, of a sort.”

Mr. Fields sat back in his seat, looking intrigued.

Tenzou stood up. “Tomorrow, 1:30pm, the lobby tables by the cafe?”

“I’ve got nowhere else to be,” the man said.

“Alright,” Tenzou replied. “And I’ll overlook the can of corn, just for today.”

“There you go being nice again, Yamato.”

Tenzou chuckled and went on his way back to the Teen department.

♦

The next day, Tenzou confirmed that Mr. Fields had taken a seat at one of the lobby tables, right at the appointed time. He ducked back into the staff corridor that led to the lounge, to get the special lunch he’d made, and then carried it carefully on a tray out into the lobby and over to Mr. Fields’ table. 

Mr. Fields noticed him when he was halfway there, and though his face was covered by the bandana and the allergy mask, Tenzou could tell he was smiling.

Tenzou placed the food tray on the table in front of Mr. Fields, including a bottle of chilled green tea from the vending machine.

“Well this is a surprise,” Mr. Fields said, leaning forward excitedly. He took off his allergy mask and gave the food a whiff. “Mmm, smells delicious. What’s gotten into you, Yamato?”

Tenzou shrugged, taking the seat opposite him for a moment, and pointing out the different items. “So there’s salmon alfredo with capers for the entree, and a side of broccoli with a touch of vinegar, and a breadstick with fennel seed, green tea, and pineapple with a small dab of whipped cream for dessert. I borrowed the tray from the cafe, but everything else is disposable, so take your time and enjoy.”

Mr. Fields was quiet a moment, taking it all in. “Did you make all this?”

“I did.” Tenzou scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed. “It’s reheated in the microwave, of course, but I thought a hot meal was a good reward for your bravery the other night.”

“That’s not what you told me before,” Mr. Fields chuckled. “What was it… unnecessarily reckless, and I should have left it to the security guard?”

Tenzou groaned. “I was wrong about the security guard. But I was right about everything else.”

Mr. Fields laughed, and Tenzou smiled.

“I’m… glad to see you back at the library,” Tenzou said, getting to his feet. 

Mr. Fields’ expression faltered, and he looked a bit sad, but he sat up and picked up his fork, which he stirred reverently into his pasta. “Thanks, Yamato. You’ve made my day.”

His eye crinkled in a smile, and Yamato lifted his hand in a wave, and then left him to enjoy the meal.

♦

Yamato packed Mr. Fields a lunch the next day also, rationalizing that it wasn’t any harder to make two sandwiches instead of one, and it wouldn’t break his bank, either. Just something small that could maybe have a big impact for someone who was likely experiencing food insecurity and malnutrition.

Mr. Fields happened to be sitting at the same lobby table reading manga, _Fruits Basket_ this time, when Tenzou strolled up, holding the paper lunch bag. Mr. Fields looked up at him.

“Have you eaten lunch yet?” Tenzou asked. 

Mr. Fields eyed the paper bag. “Nope.”

“Okay. Try this,” Tenzou said, opening the bag and placing the items in front of the old man. “This is a turkey and swiss sandwich on rye, and an apple, and some carrot sticks and ranch dip.”

Mr. Fields looked at him skeptically. “Is this going to be an everyday thing, now, Yamato? I must have really impressed you when I got socked in the nose, or something.”

Tenzou chuckled. “Can’t promise every day, but it’s not any trouble, and I like to cook. Or does it make you uncomfortable?”

Mr. Fields shook his head. “I’ve never been one to turn away a free meal, so I’ll help myself.”

“Please do,” Tenzou said, taking the napkins from the bag and putting them by the sandwich, and then folding the paper bag and setting it to the side for the trash later.

“You like to place things a certain way, don’t you,” Mr. Fields commented. “A bit anal retentive?”

“Har, har,” Tenzou rolled his eyes. “I do like things neat in general, yes, but this is all for the security cameras.” He pointed them out on the ceiling. “So no one can say I was passing you anything suspicious in a brown paper bag.”

Mr. Fields gave a hearty laugh, and Tenzou grinned, and then left him to his meal. 

The act of making packed lunches for Mr. Fields was strangely satisfying to Tenzou. Though he didn’t quite understand why, he also couldn’t stop himself. The days he brought the old guy lunch started to add up, verging on becoming a habit. There was just something about this tragic, brave, difficult, ornery, manga-loving homeless old man that triggered his protective instincts, much the same way he felt about the teens who came to his department. 

However it happened, Tenzou had come to look forward to seeing Mr. Fields around the library, carrying his multiple bags, or snoozing in the Genealogy section, or riling people up in the computer lab. A lot of the time he was doing the latter, much to Shizune’s ire. 

Iruka questioned him about “the lunch thing” in his office once, concerned the homeless man was blackmailing Tenzou or something, and Tenzou burst out laughing. He assured Iruka that it was just something he wanted to do, and it didn’t hurt anyone, or impede library operations, so he didn’t see it as a big deal. 

“I’m just looking out for him,” Tenzou said. “And it’s only been like seven or eight times, so don’t worry. Just… sometimes before he starts eating he tells stories about his dogs, or the national parks he’s been to around the country, and he just seems… awfully lonely. I just don’t want anything terrible to happen to him, and this way he gets some nutrition, too. Puts my mind at ease.”

“Okaaaaaay,” Iruka threw his hands up. “Sounds like you’re sure about what you’re doing, but I wouldn’t want to be grilled by Hana or Tayuya if anything about this _special lunch service_ goes sideways. You’re on your own pal.”

Tenzou laughed, and Iruka gave him a quick hug. 

“Don’t forget you said you’d come out to the bar sometime,” Iruka said. “You haven’t come out with us in a while, so let’s make some plans soon, ok?”

“Sure,” Tenzou nodded. “Let me know.”

Iruka busted out some sensual dance club moves, and then waved before heading back to the Children’s department, leaving a grinning Tenzou behind. 

♦

The day before Thanksgiving, not too many teens had come to the department after school. There was a quiet boy who liked to sit in a bean bag chair with his earbuds while sketching, who usually got picked up by his older brother at closing time, and a pair of boys who were on the computers, probably absorbed in some game. The internet filters on the teen department computers would make sure they couldn’t get into any trouble, so Tenzou wasn’t concerned about them at all. 

He and Rin were using the down time to catch up on some projects, like book orders and checking the gaming inventory for anything that needed replacing or an upgrade. Tenzou had just untangled a rat’s nest of wires to various gaming controllers, when the walkie-talkie started buzzing with lots of static and urgent voices.

Tenzou and Rin exchanged a glance, and Tenzou came closer to the service desk so he could hear what was going on. The chatter was so fast it was hard to make out the details, but it sounded like something was happening in the computer lab. Over the radio they heard that the Director and Hana were heading over, and Tenzou had full confidence in the library’s leadership. 

“Keep listening, and let me know if they ask for help,” he said to Rin. 

A few minutes later, the phone at the service desk rang, and Rin answered it. Tenzou was winding a game controller cord into a neat bundle when she called out to him

“That was Shizune,” Rin said, concern plain on her face. “She says you might want to go over there to the lab, pronto.”

Tenzou’s blood ran cold. Shizune usually only called for him when Mr. Fields was acting up, and his body seized with a terrible premonition that this was something even more dire. He dropped the controller, and started for the doors. 

“Thanks,” he called over his shoulder. 

He jogged through the adult services area to the Circulation desk, where he saw Anko standing near the computer lab doors with her hands on her hips, overseeing the exodus of patrons filing out of the lab and into the lobby. There had to be several first responder vehicles out front, as the whole area was bathed in flashing lights, giving the library an eerie feel. He spotted Tsunade and Hana up front handling things from the lobby, and Konan and Iruka at the entrance to the Children’s department keeping the crowds moving along through the doors.

“What’s going on?” Tenzou asked Anko, who just cocked her head to point him into the computer lab.

Tenzou moved inside against the flow of patron traffic, and when the lab opened out he saw at least a dozen uniformed police officers had converged on several persons who were face down on the floor, handcuffed or in the process of being handcuffed. Tenzou’s eyes went wide, unable to piece together what he was seeing. He looked around for Shizune, who had just ushered the last patrons out of the lab and towards Anko’s post. 

“What’s all this about?” he whispered to her. 

“I don’t know, but it seems like some kind of bust,” she whispered back. 

“A bust? Like a criminal operation?” Tenzou shook his head. “How can that be?”

Shizune shrugged. “I don’t know, but suddenly a ton of cops all rushed in here and a scuffle broke out and now they’re arresting people — that’s all I know.”

Tenzou looked out on the scene in shock. It was too surreal — like something out of reality TV. What in the heck was happening? How could there be a mass arrest like this, at a library?

Two cops hauled a guy up from the floor. There was nothing that stood out about his appearance, but his face was twisted in anger. The cops marched him out of the lab, where Tenzou could see through the glass walls as Anko directed them towards the lobby, where Tsunade and Hana were keeping the perimeter clear for the police to do their work. 

Shizune leaned closer. “Listen, when the cops rushed inside, one of the perps tried to run away, but Mr. Fields stopped him. They brawled on the floor. That’s why I called you, I thought you’d want to know.” 

He looked at her in horror. She pointed over to the back left section of the lab, but Tenzou couldn’t see anything past the rows and rows of computer stations. She nudged him forward, angling him in the right direction. 

Tenzou put one foot in front of the other, staggering down the row until he was close enough to make out a bulky olive mass on the floor surrounded by police boots. He couldn’t help rushing forward, appalled at how still the man was on the floor — had he been knocked unconscious? Did he have a concussion?

“Mr. Fields!” Tenzou shouted, just in time for one of the cops to stop him with an arm across the chest. 

“Stay back,” the cop barked. “You’re in the way.”

“What are you doing to him?” Tenzou shouted back.

The cop rounded on him, right when Tenzou felt two hands grab onto his elbow. He glanced behind him and saw Shizune, who was pulling him back out of the way.

“Don’t interfere,” she hissed.

Tenzou clenched his teeth, heart pounding in his chest. The cops to the right hauled a different guy up off the floor, another nondescript man wearing a ballcap, face shadowed by the brim. Tenzou saw there was another perp being walked out of the lab ahead of them — that made three so far. He scanned the room and saw two others on the ground besides Mr. Fields. 

Shizune gave him a consoling squeeze, and Tenzou tried to calm his breathing. The two other perps were manhandled to their feet and walked out, and finally the cops in front of him started to haul Mr. Fields to his feet. Tenzou’s stomach boiled to see the shining metal handcuffs around the old man’s wrists, fingerless gloves and all. 

“He has rights, you know,” Tenzou said, trying not to shout. “Did you read him his rights?”

“He’s been read his rights,” the cop near him said, then pointed to the officers holding Mr. Fields by the arms. “Take him out of here.”

“Wait!” Tenzou said, shaking off Shizune’s arm and following alongside as they walked to the doors. “What are the charges? Are you sure he should be arrested? Wasn’t he trying to help?”

“You his lawyer?” the cop quipped, oozing sarcasm.

Tenzou tightened his jaw. “No, but I’ll get him one — Mr. Fields, do you have a lawyer? Do you need representation?”

Mr. Fields had his head down as they walked him out. “Sorry, Yamato. You should let this go.”

Tenzou’s heart lurched. “What the hell does that mean? You just — just –just hang in there, okay? I’ll get you some help, whatever you need.” 

Tenzou checked the plastic ID holder hanging from his lanyard, and found one of his business cards. He came around and faced Mr. Fields, halting the procession, but the old man wouldn’t look at him.

“Here,” Tenzou said, tucking the card into his olive coat pocket. “You get a phone call, right? You call me. I’ll come get you, I’ll help with bail — I don’t know what’s going on–”

“Alright, that’s enough,” said the cop who’d been hassling Tenzou this whole time. He didn’t touch Tenzou, but positioned his body to force him to back up out of the way. “Move aside, or I’ll issue you a citation.”

Tenzou stood apart, helpless, and watched as Mr. Fields was taken away with the other criminals, guts tied in knots, and frustration beating in his chest. This didn’t make sense, and he felt certain that whatever awaited the man downtown, in lockup, or wherever they took people who were arrested, it would be a very dangerous place for a homeless veteran in his sixties. 

Prison would not be good to him. The thought of prison at all made Tenzou’s knees feel wobbly, and he leaned on the back of the closest computer chair for support. 

Director Tsunade appeared, and began addressing the remaining police officers. “The CSI unit is here, and on their way inside. Do you have the warrant?”

A different cop came forward, this one in plain clothes with his badge hung around his neck in a leather case. Tenzou took in the scars along the man’s face and the thick ponytail of dark hair with greying streaks, and wondered if he too was a war veteran.

“Yes ma’am, right here,” the man answered in a gravelly voice.

“Thank you, Detective Nara.” Tsunade accepted the paperwork and then turned to Tenzou and Shizune. “They have the right to take the computers being used by the suspects. Shizune, you know which ones were logged in?” 

“Yes!” Shizune stood at attention, and began relaying the information to the detective and the other officers standing by. 

Tenzou looked around, bewildered and sick. His palms were clammy. The only thought in his head was how wrong this was, and how it didn’t make sense — they took the wrong man, it had to be a mistake. 

He attempted to dry off his hands on his corduroy slacks and compose himself before approaching the Director. “Tsunade, Director, I’m worried about Mr. Fields, I think he needs help. Can I leave early and–”

The rest died on his lips when he saw her fierce expression. 

“There’s a bit of a situation here, Yamato,” she frowned. “I need you to finish your shift.”

“Yes ma’am, of course,” he said, swallowing. “What do you need me to do?”

“If everything in Teens is under control, why don’t you help Shizune and the officers with the computers,” she said. “Then check in with Hana.”

“Got it, right away,” he said, turning around. 

He located Shizune among the computer rows, and went over to her and offered his help. Time seemed to pass in a blur of strange flashes. Disassembling computers, loading them into evidence bags; surreal activities he’d never done before in his life. All of it was unreal.

When he finished, there wasn’t anything else that the Director or Hana needed from him, so he returned to his department and checked in with Rin, who was now all by herself. The few teens from earlier had gone home. Tenzou listened to her report, but he didn’t really hear anything that she said, his mind was so preoccupied. 

As soon as he got to his office, he looked up Mr. Fields’ library account to see if there was an emergency contact, or anyone he could call on his behalf. He’d never really looked at the information closely before now, out of a respect for privacy, and was dismayed to find that his library record was so sparse. There was no address — not even a note indicating the patron was between addresses, code for experiencing homelessness. The phone number was the library’s main line, and Mr. Fields’ first name was listed as “Scar,” which just couldn’t be right. Tenzou frowned. The Circulation staff were normally so thorough and accurate, but this was abysmal. 

Tenzou grabbed his bag and his coat, and made sure Rin was all set for closing before he made a beeline for the parking lot. He drove straight to the City’s police precinct, and waited in line at the reception desk until finally the clerk waved him forward. 

Tenzou ran a hand through his hair. “Hi, I’m here on behalf of Mr. Fields, he would have been brought in a couple of hours ago from Konoha Public Library. Where can I find him? Or, er, can I know if bail was set, and for how much?”

“What’s the name? Fields?” The clerk made a search on the computer, and then shook their head. “I don’t see anyone with that name brought in today. Is there another name to check?”

Tenzou shook his head, mind racing. “He’s… I don’t know, about sixty, gray hair and beard, bandana over one eye… His first name might be Scar?”

The clerk looked dubious, but did another search, and finally spread their hands, shaking their head. “Unless you have a case number, there’s nothing I can do for you.”

“But, tomorrow is Thanksgiving!” Tenzou said. “He can’t just be left alone in there on Thanksgiving!”

The clerk looked down their nose. “Sir, unless you have the case number–”

Tenzou apologized, and then turned away from the desk. He looked around the areas of the precinct that could be seen by the public, but didn’t recognize any of the cops or detectives or other personnel. He hoped he might see a tuft of wild gray hair, or a glimpse of an olive coat with sherpa lining, but there was nothing. No sign of the older man whatsoever. 

He debated for a moment about calling his boss, Hana, to see if he could get the case number, but he could already predict what she’d have to say. He was obsessing, and wasting his time, and had grown too invested in a library patron, and needed to step back and reset his professional boundaries. Or something to that effect. 

Tenzou put his hands into his coat pockets, and walked back outside into the chill, trying to look on the bright side that Mr. Fields could possibly be warmer here in the lockup than he’d be out there in the winter night. 

This thought was all he could hold onto, as he drove back to his home, feeling as though he’d aged several years in a single day.

♦

Tenzou spent Thanksgiving the same way he did every year — serving meals at the soup kitchen downtown. It was hard work, and he traded off with the other volunteers for various duties such as serving the guests, cleaning up the dishes, or working in the kitchen, carving turkey or using oven mitts to take out sheets with hot rolls lined up in rows.

On his way home, he stopped at the precinct again, feeling like he had to try and find out anything he could about Mr. Fields’ arrest, if he’d been released, any tiny crumb of information. Since the library was closed for the holiday, if the old man had been released he wouldn’t be able to go there. 

The clerk checked again, but didn’t find any records for a Mr. Scar Fields. Then Tenzou had another thought.

“Could you tell me if Officer Uchiha is on duty, by chance?”

“Which one?” The clerk asked. 

Tenzou’s brows shot up, then remembered that Itachi’s dad was the Chief of Police, and Itachi had mentioned it was something of a family tradition. 

He thought back for a moment, picturing the Officer he’d met with the black spiky hair. “Er… Obito, I think? Is there an Obito Uchiha?”

The clerk checked something else in his computer, and then shook his head. “I’m sorry, that Officer is not on duty today. You can try back tomorrow.”

Tenzou nodded his thanks, and went home, still filled with anxiety. 

Black Friday was always a chaotic day at the library, especially for the Children’s and Teens departments because school was out, and many parents wanted to hit the sales. The busy activity made the day go by quickly, though he still found time every so often to make a pass through the other areas of the library and see if Mr. Fields had turned back up after Wednesday’s incident. 

He’d asked Anko, Yuugao, and Shizune to let him know the moment they saw Mr. Fields in the library, and his colleagues agreed, but he could sense some tension in their faces when they tried to smile reassuringly. 

That Friday after lunch, Shizune stopped by Tenzou’s office, which was rare. But when Tenzou saw the three bags she was carrying, one of them a carpet bag with a wonky handle, his stomach dropped.

“I was going to put these in the lost and found, but thought maybe you’d have some idea of what to do with them?” 

Tenzou stood up, and made a space for her to set them down on one of the spare chairs in his office, near the wall. “Thanks,” he said, feeling a little lost.

“Do you know if he… where he… ?” Shizune let out an awkward laugh. “I don’t suppose you know which shelter he might be staying in, or where he goes… ?”

Tenzou shook his head. “No. I don’t know. He seemed too proud, and private about how he survived when he wasn’t at the library for me to ask, and he never offered.”

“Yeah, makes sense.” She said. “Well I thought it might be good to hang on to these until he returns, or until we know what to do. If it’s okay with you, that is.”

“Of course,” Tenzou said. “I’ll keep them here for now, until he can come back and get them.” 

Shizune smiled. “Sounds good.”

Tenzou waved goodbye, and then closed his office door, and looked at the bags. He was not the type to invade someone’s privacy, but he couldn’t help the glimmer of hope in his chest that maybe something in these bags would be a clue that he could follow in order to return these belongings to their rightful owner.

Carefully, he opened the carpet bag, the largest of the three, for a quick and cursory search. He found some shoes and other clothing items, all pretty worn and tattered, and a toiletries kit with a comb and toothpaste and deodorant. There didn’t seem to be anything of significant interest, so he moved on to the next bag, the backpack. 

In the backpack he found a small wallet with the library card, but no ID, and about twelve bucks cash. He found six or seven beat-up spiral notebooks in various colors, which he flipped through just to confirm they weren’t address books or anything useful. The handwriting was pretty lousy, and the pages were dated like a journal, and in some cases there were lines of what looked like poetry. There were also some McDonald’s coupons in the bottom of the bag, with a collapsible umbrella and loose change, some convenience store receipts for canned coffee and beer, and not much else. 

The tote bag held his library books. A couple of volumes of _Fruits Basket_ , several more of _Princess Jellyfish_ , and _Otomen_ , and _Lone Wolf and Cub_. Also _Kekkaishi_ , which was one of Tenzou’s personal favorites; it had gorgeous illustrations of Japanese architecture, which he’d always liked. Crammed down the side of the bag was a lumpy object, which Tenzou pulled out and discovered it was a dog grooming brush, that still held some hairs of chocolate brown, sable, and at least two shades of tawny.

This last item made Tenzou unaccountably sad as he returned it to the bag. He sat thoughtful in his office for a while. Then he turned to his computer and pulled up Mr. Fields’ account again, and renewed all his books for him. After that, he headed back out into the bustling Teen department to see how the gaming tournaments were going.

♦

On both Saturday and Sunday, Tenzou stopped by to check for Mr. Fields at the library, but there was no sign of him, and no news. In fact, a whole week went by without any news, and by that point Tenzou was feeling quite desperate to know what had happened, and sought more information from the only source he could think of. 

He knocked on Anko’s office door. “Hey, got a sec?”

“Sure, come in! Have a seat,” she gestured to the chairs before her desk.

“That’s okay, I just have a quick question. Do you remember that police officer from a while back? When there was that altercation and Mr. Fields was punched in the nose?”

She cocked her head. “Yeah, why?”

“Did he… er… are you in contact with him? Officer Uchiha?”

Anko gave him a calculating look, and folded her arms, cheeks pink. “Maybe… What are you getting at?”

“I just wondered if you could contact him, and remind him of Mr. Fields, and see if he can find out what happened after he was arrested. He hasn’t come back to the library and I’m worried.”

Anko gave a long sigh. “I don’t know if it’ll do any good, but if I have a chance, I’ll ask, ok? But I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, that grumpy homeless guy seems pretty resilient.”

“Okay,” Tenzou sighed. “Thanks.”

The next day, Anko texted him that the Officer had no information, unfortunately. 

Most of another week went by with no word, no news, and no sightings of Mr. Fields.

Iruka finally cornered Tenzou in his office.

“Your moping around the library day after day is getting ridiculous!” Iruka fussed. “That old guy had lots of fight left in him, so surely he’s okay, and it probably wasn’t his first time being arrested either. You have to stop obsessing, Tenz.”

“I’m not obsessing,” Tenzou denied. 

Iruka sighed. “Well you’re worrying yourself sick, and it’s pitiful. If he were a kid I’d understand, but he’s a grown ass man who for all we know got involved with some criminal ring! You’ve got to let go of this hero complex, or whatever it is that’s dragging you down in the dumps.”

“I refuse to believe that he was part of that gang of criminals. He’s a war veteran for gods’ sake, he wouldn’t do that kind of thing.”

Iruka pursed his lips. “Anyone can become a criminal! But you know, it doesn’t really matter. You’re being pitiful, and you’re coming out with me tonight — I will not take no for an answer! It’s Friday and we’re going to have some fun. Period.”

Tenzou knew better than to argue with Iruka on this subject, so he rolled his eyes and agreed, and they worked out the details. He was not interested at all in the usual bar, not in the slightest, but he had to admit that a change of scenery could do him some good, and resigned himself to the night’s fate.

♦

Iruka picked Tenzou up around 10:00pm, and they drove together to Ichiraku’s, Iruka’s favorite bar in the uptown party strip and their usual spot to hang out with friends — or make a new friend or two. 

It was popular on the weekends to a variety of clientele, but most evenings the atmosphere catered to men who were interested in other men, and became a place such men could meet, dance, and drink the night away.

They checked their winter coats in the front area, and made their way inside along the perimeter where there were some plush benches and coffee tables by the section of high top tables opposite the dance floor. The layout was half bar, half club — the best of both worlds.

Tenzou gazed on the mass of undulating bodies on the dance floor and took in the special effects lighting, and felt some of his stress dissipate — he was with his people, and this was familiar ground. Suddenly he realized how long it had been since his last visit, and discovered he was really looking forward to seeing his friends. 

Why had he wasted so much energy earlier in the day dreading this?

Iruka spotted Aoba and Ebisu standing at a high top with a beer and a cocktail, and waved as they went over to say hello. It was so nice to see friendly faces and Tenzou welcomed the pleasant excitement that was beginning to build inside him to the rhythm of the music of the nearby dance floor.

“Damn, Tenzou,” Aoba said, giving him a quick hug and then a long once-over. “Sleeveless turtlenecks are hard to pull off, but look at those guns — amazing definition, bud.”

Tenzou affected nonchalance, flexing one bare arm, then the other. “What, these?” He smirked.

Iruka swatted him on the behind. “You tease.” They all shared a laugh.

Ebisu adjusted his tinted glasses. “It’s no wonder you’re stacked, between your martial arts training and the time you spend at the rock climbing gym. You could crack walnuts with those.”

Tenzou grinned and gave Ebisu a quick side-hug. “I only do that with my abs,” he quipped.

Iruka laughed and scrubbed his fingers through Tenzou’s short hair affectionately. “Well this is a huge improvement from earlier! Look at you grinning and making jokes, it’s a whole new Tenzou. Go ahead and strut your stuff, stud. You might even get laid, and trust me — it’s about time.”

They shared another laugh at this, and then Tenzou said he was going to the bar and would be right back. He offered to get something for Iruka, but Iruka decided to come along.

At the bar, Tenzou ordered a mojito and Iruka opted for a Cosmo. 

“First round’s on me,” Tenzou said, ignoring Iruka’s protests and handing over the cash.

While they waited for their drinks, Tenzou looked around the club and over the dance floor, taking it all in. There were several attractive men who shot him glances from the crowd, and Tenzou’s pulse increased, as he considered the hunt. Then someone at the edge of the dance floor with shockingly bright orange hair really drew his eye. He watched, transfixed, as the guy moved with sinuous ease for someone tall and well built, wide shoulders that stretched the fabric of his black long-sleeved shirt across lean muscles, and red vinyl pants that glinted under the effects lighting and hugged everything tight from his hips to his boots. 

Tenzou’s mouth watered, another reminder that he hadn’t gotten laid in … an embarrassingly long amount of time.

“See anything you like?” Iruka asked, giving Tenzou a sly smile as he passed him his mojito.

“Hah,” Tenzou laughed, pulling his eyes away. “You know I’m not really here for that, Iruka.” They took a sip of their drinks, and moved a few steps away from the bar to allow others to order. 

Iruka shrugged. “Well you don’t have to pass it up altogether, you know.”

“I know, but I’m just not interested right now. I’m here to have fun with you guys, just hanging out or whatever.”

Iruka tapped him on the arm, nodding towards the dance floor. “No really, it looks like you don’t have to pass it up, especially if someone in hot red pants should spot you from the dance floor and start walking over here…”

Tenzou turned in the direction of Iruka’s gaze, and saw the man with the red pants and the orange hair coming their way. He locked eyes with Tenzou, and Tenzou felt a new kind of tension start to take over in the pit of his stomach.

“Wow… that’s a lot of piercings…” Iruka murmured. 

“Indeed,” Tenzou whispered, finding the man more and more intriguing, and more and more attractive the closer he came.

The man stopped before them, standing closer to Tenzou than Iruka. “Hi,” he said, dipping his gaze down Tenzou’s narrow waist and tight jeans and back up.

“Hi,” Tenzou replied, doing the same.

“See ya!” Iruka chuckled, and disappeared back into the crowd.

“I’m Yahiko,” the man said, holding out a hand with black painted nails.

Tenzou clasped it and shook, and took a few moments to appreciate the pressure of his grip, and the array of decorative piercings over his face and ears. 

“Yamato,” he said, and Yahiko smiled. 

Twenty minutes later they were tangled in the middle of the dance floor, grinding and making out and dancing like it was the last night before the apocalypse. Tenzou had never kissed anyone with tongue or lip piercings before, but Yahiko sure knew what he was doing, and Tenzou had always been a quick learner. He’d almost forgotten how much he liked to kiss, and be kissed, and how he’d quietly ached to have another man’s body against his all these months through his recent dry spell. Tenzou danced, and kissed, and touched, and reveled in the feel of a man’s hands curving around his shoulders, waist, and ass, as they undulated and danced for quite some time. 

When it got a little too steamy, a little too sexy to continue for much longer without needing condoms or at the very least a change of clothes, Tenzou slowed his partner down with hands on Yahiko’s hips, and kissed him softly along the column of his neck to his ear.

“Let’s get some air,” he suggested, trying to catch his breath. 

Yahiko nodded, sliding an arm around Tenzou’s shoulders and helping to steer them out of the crowd. The palm on Tenzou’s bicep was warm, and felt incredible.

Tenzou angled them back towards the bar where the music wasn’t blasting quite so hard, thinking he wanted another drink, and a chance to get to know Yahiko a little better, when he spotted his ex, Genma, and his new boyfriend Raidou, who had just purchased two cold beers.

Yamato slowed down, but Genma had already seen him and so there was no avoiding at least some small interaction. 

“Hey, Tenzou,” Genma said, making an effort to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Hey,” Tenzou said. He glanced at Yahiko who had an excellent poker face — Tenzou hoped if there was drama about to happen, Yahiko wasn’t the type to pour gasoline on the fire.

“Haven’t seen you in a while.” Genma took one of the beers from Raidou’s hands and the two came over.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Tenzou agreed. 

“You look good,” Genma said, but his eyes were all over Yahiko, and Tenzou found his jaw tightening. 

“Thanks, likewise.”

“I’m Yahiko,” Yahiko introduced himself, lowering his arm from Tenzou’s body so he could offer a handshake. 

Genma completed the introductions, and then there was a pregnant pause. 

“Nice to meet you,” said Raidou. “We’ll catch you later.”

“Sure,” said Tenzou. They all waved, and then separated. Tenzou took a deep breath.

Yahiko watched him carefully. “I’m going to go out on a limb here, and guess that that was your ex?”

Tenzou nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. It’s been a while though, just still…”

Yahiko laughed. “Fucking awkward?”

“Exactly,” Tenzou laughed. 

“Yeah I know what you mean.” Yahiko gave a big sigh, then he took Tenzou’s hand, and held it. “But the past is the past, and meeting someone new is also nice…”

Tenzou smiled, and so did Yahiko, who leaned in and slipped his arms around Tenzou’s back, and kissed his ear, then his cheek, then his mouth. The kiss was slow and sensual, and Tenzou found he enjoyed it just as much as he’d enjoyed the more frantic kisses they’d shared on the dance floor. 

Yahiko stroked fingers through Tenzou’s hair, and pulled back so their eyes could meet. “My place isn’t far, if you want to come over. Or there’s the twenty-four hour diner over on fourth street, if you want to go get some coffee and waffles. Your choice.”

Tenzou’s belly squirmed, torn between the two offers on the table. Both sounded really, really good, and long overdue as his love life _and_ his sex life had suffered since everything ended with Genma. Tenzou wasn’t afraid to be impulsive, but he also didn’t want to rush too quickly, and he’d probably been impulsive enough for one night. 

“Thank you, Yahiko, but I think I should call it a night.” 

Yahiko nodded, and folded him into a big hug. “Sure. Can I contact you another time?”

“Yeah,” Tenzou nodded into his shoulder. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

Once they exchanged phone numbers, and another long, hot kiss, Tenzou left Yahiko in line at the bar and headed around to the other side of the club, where he hoped he would find Iruka. He wanted to check in before calling a cab and taking off, knowing that Iruka had endless stamina for the dance floor — and any other entertainment that Ichiraku’s provided — and it was far too early for him to call it a night. 

So Tenzou was not entirely surprised to find his friend sitting on a bench by the wall with a cute younger guy straddling his lap, several empty drinks on the coffee table beside them. 

Iruka was tongue deep, hands buried in long blonde hair that was half pulled up into a high ponytail. Iruka’s hands were roaming urgently over the guy’s skin tight mesh shirt, while the blonde ground his hips into Iruka’s. Then the blonde yanked on Iruka’s brown ponytail with a fierce grip, breaking the kiss. The two looked at each other passionately, almost angrily, and then started kissing again with even more intensity.

Tenzou didn’t dare interrupt, and couldn’t help blushing as he looked around for Aoba and Ebisu. He finally found them in a booth towards the back, enjoying conversation with Genma and Raidou. Tenzou respectfully bowed out, turning and heading for the coat check. He wanted his friends to have fun together, and he didn’t want to be the cause of any strife; they all had a long history together, including Raidou.

Tenzou summoned a ride with the app on his phone, and then texted Iruka that he’d gotten a cab, and to have fun with his new dude. He was relieved to make it back to his home, which was becoming more and more like a personal, private sanctuary. 

He had a text from Yahiko asking if he got home okay, and Tenzou replied that he did, and wished him goodnight. Then he showered and went to sleep, lips still burning from Yahiko’s kisses, thoughts blissfully free from anything too complicated for the first time in a while.

♦

It was just another day at the library. Tenzou was in the Teen department, tutoring Naruto in Chemistry while Shisui helped Sasuke and Sakura with their political science essays. 

Tenzou still hadn’t heard anything about Mr. Fields, which bothered him a great deal, but without any updates or leads, he was forced to get used to the fact that maybe he’d never know what happened to him, as horrible as that was. 

It was mid-December now, and every day Tenzou was surrounded by the teens who were panicking about tests before the winter break and cramming every spare moment, begging for extra tutors to come in, and also the teens who had panicked so much that their brains had short-circuited, and all they could do was play smash brothers to calm down and hope to regain their focus another day. He was grateful for the hustle and bustle, and the distractions it provided from his worries. 

Then there was a sudden crackle from the intercom speakers, followed by the sound of Anko’s voice. “Would Tenzou Yamato please report to the Circulation desk? Tenzou Yamato to the circulation desk. Thank you.”

Tenzou looked over at Shisui, who mirrored his surprise and confusion. 

“Mr. Yamato, they are calling you!” Naruto said, fidgeting in his chair and grinning. “Awwwwwwww, what did you do? Are you in trouble?”

“ _No_ ,” Tenzou scoffed. “Nothing of the sort, but I do need to see what they need. I’ll be right back.”

“Sure, take your time!” Naruto grinned and leaned back in his chair, tipping it dangerously on two legs. 

Tenzou gave him _the look_ , and Naruto sat the chair back down with a clack. Then Tenzou made eye contact with Shisui, who nodded that he’d handle things for the moment, and Tenzou picked up the radio from the service desk and let everyone know he was en route.

He walked calmly through the adult services area, and finally turned the corner to the Circulation desk, where he found Anko standing off to the side with a police officer. At the sight of the man in uniform, Tenzou’s heart leapt into his throat, suddenly remembering the night of the police raid on the computer lab and the last time he’d ever seen Mr. Fields. 

His pulse started beating frantically in his neck, and he filled with dread, not sure what exactly he might hear — just what was the Officer going to say to him? What news did he bring? 

Was this the moment he’d find out if Mr. Fields was okay… or had something terrible happened after all?

Tenzou zeroed in on the Officer’s face, looking for any clue about what type of news he was about to hear, but in the moment their eyes met Tenzou’s mind went completely blank — he simply forgot every thought in his head because _wow…_

This was the most gorgeous man he’d ever laid eyes on in his twenty-eight years of life, so goddamn beautiful it brought a blush to his cheeks. 

Tenzou’s steps faltered as he absorbed the man’s fine cheekbones and masculine jaw, the delicate scar across his eye that made his gaze rather intense, but this was softened by those utterly kissable lips and a dashing beauty mark by his chin, not to mention the rest of him, like the way the full navy and blue police uniform hugged his athletic body in all the right places, the unusual and intriguing silver coloring of his hair and his brows…

Tenzou swallowed, coming to a stop before the Officer, not entirely sure he could trust his voice at the moment from all his senses going haywire with instant, all-consuming desire.

The Officer gave him a gentle smile. “I understand you’ve been wanting to know about Mr. Fields?”

Hearing that name was like falling through the ice into a frozen lake. 

Tenzou’s focus instantly snapped back to attention, along with the dread that sent chills throughout all his limbs. Somehow he managed to nod, unable to speak for the fear of what he would hear.

“I have something for you.” The Officer took a small bundle out of his pocket, and held it out.

When Tenzou saw it was his handkerchief, laundered but still a bit stained with blood from the time when Mr. Fields had broken his nose, all the color drained from his face. No. Oh no. No, no, no. He sucked in a breath, and stood there, shaking and horrified with grief.

The Officer frowned. “Are you okay?”

Tenzou felt tears welling up in his eyes, as he looked at the handkerchief and held it reverently in his hands, tracing the stains along the edges. If the Officer had brought this handkerchief from Mr. Fields’ personal effects, then something terrible indeed had happened, because it meant his old friend couldn’t, or wouldn’t be able to deliver it on his own. Tenzou had to assume and accept the worst — that Mr. Fields had died in the lockup, or wherever they had sent him. 

Mr. Fields had been a tough old guy, but who knew what wounds or other ailments he suffered from? If he’d pissed off the wrong inmate, which Tenzou knew from experience was a real possibility, he could have been beaten to death, or shivved, or any other awful scenario that came to mind from movies and TV. It was too much to imagine, and Tenzou felt a silent tear slip over his left cheek.

The Officer laid a gentle hand on Tenzou’s arm. “Yamato?”

Tenzou straightened up, wiping the tears with the heel of his hand. He looked into the Officer’s eyes, and then suddenly he was struck with the obvious family resemblance between this Officer and Mr. Fields. Slowly the extra pieces fit together — they had the same hair coloring, the same height. The Officer could probably be the old guy’s grandson. Tenzou let out a sad laugh, and felt a lump in his throat.

“Can you please tell me how he died, at least?” Tenzou asked, holding tight to the handkerchief and blinking back another wave of tears. “You may not have cared about him, but he will be missed at the library, by many of us.”

The Officer looked bewildered, and said nothing. 

Tenzou sighed, feeling frustrated. “Well aren’t you his grandson? Next of kin? That’s why you have this from his personal effects, right?” He waved the handkerchief in the air.

“Wha…” The Officer said, appearing confused. Then he chuckled, and then pressed his lips together to keep from laughing, which made Tenzou instantly pissed.

“You have no right to laugh about this,” Tenzou pointed a finger right in the Officer’s chest. “He was a good man, and if you were family and lived nearby you damn well should have done a lot more for him!”

The Officer grinned, and held up his hands. “Wait a second, Yamato, slow down. Give me a chance to explain.”

Tenzou scoffed, his temper flaring up the more he thought of how Mr. Fields had been wronged by everyone around him. “You better have a damn good explanation–”

“ _–Yamato_.” 

The Officer grabbed him by the arms, gently but firmly, and this somehow silenced whatever else Tenzou thought he was going to say.

The man’s eyes searched Tenzou’s face, brows wrinkled in concern, and then when their eyes met his lips curved in a soft smile. 

“Yamato. It’s me. _I’m_ Mr. Fields — I’m not a relative, or anything like that. I was in a disguise.”

Tenzou blinked, trying to take in this shocking information after so many shocks in a row. 

The Officer continued. “It’s really me, Yamato. You pulled me out of the fountain one time, and you kicked me out of the computer lab a bunch of times, and you caught me eating in one of the study rooms. Remember?”

The Officer’s hands moved to Tenzou’s shoulders and stroked down his arms gently, a soothing gesture. “Please let me explain. I was here on assignment, with an undercover identity. I couldn’t tell you before, but I’m the same person who checked out manga, and talked with you, and asked about your plants. Then, that night of the bust, I had to get arrested along with everyone to keep my cover. But I’m fine, and everything’s okay now. So I came to see you. I wanted to see you.”

Tenzou took this all in, listening, eyes squinted to see if the man before him could be telling him the truth. It was so hard to tell when Mr. Fields had had a bushy beard, and a bandana, and an allergy mask, and coats… and Tenzou started to understand that all of that was part of his disguise, his persona. 

Who would look twice at a homeless man at the library, and suspect he was really an undercover cop on some sort of stakeout?

The Officer let go of him, and cleared his throat. He tapped the side of his fist against Tenzou’s chest, something he’d done often in the past few months. “You’re so nice, Yamato. It’s one of your best faults. But you have to believe me. I am Mr. Fields, and he isn’t dead, or anything of the sort, because he never existed in the first place. Just me.”

Tenzou still didn’t know what to believe, or what he could trust. He inclined his head, frowning. It still seemed too farfetched to believe… how could he have mistaken this thirty-something policeman for the sixty-something homeless veteran he’d gotten to know over the past few months? 

Just how much had been lies?

Tenzou’s brow hardened. “Do you even like manga?” 

“I do, I love it. People can make fun, I don’t care.”

“Do you even have dogs?”

“I do, eight of them, like I told you. A friend’s been watching them for me, but they’re back at home now and we’re all reunited.”

“So you do have a home then?”

The Officer laughed. “I do. Nothing fancy, but it’s home.”

“And have you ever been to the Roswell UFO Museum?”

“I have!” The Officer grinned. “I took a whole roll of pictures with an old funsaver camera, and when I had them developed none of them came out right, they were all blurry and double-exposed. I can dig them up and show you sometime if you don’t believe me.”

“And is that badge real, or something you got on eBay?” Tenzou pointed to the badge clipped to his belt.

“It’s real,” the Officer said. “Joined the force right after high school, graduated early. I love my community, and I love what I do. Just like you.”

Tenzou crossed his arms, still worrying the handkerchief between his fingers.

“So is Mr. Fields your real name?” Tenzou knew it wasn’t, but still.

The Officer grinned. “It’s not. My real name is Kakashi. Kakashi Hatake. And it’s a pleasure to meet you, finally, Tenzou Yamato.”

He held out his hand, and Tenzou hesitated, but then moved the handkerchief to his left hand so he could extend his right. Officer Hatake took Tenzou’s hand with both of his, and after the handshake he held onto it, stepping closer.

“I’ve really missed you, Yamato,” the Officer said. “I was bound to secrecy, and it took forever to get clearance but finally I could come here and tell you the truth. I’ve missed your sweater vests — the one you have on today looks really good by the way–”

Tenzou colored to the tips of his ears.

“–and eating your packed lunches, and the way we could talk about anything at all. I’ve been waiting for someone like you for a long time. So, Yamato, will you please have dinner with me tonight?”

The audience around them all said “ _Awwwwwww_ ,” and until right then Tenzou hadn’t even noticed that they had attracted an audience in the first place, right there in the middle of the Circulation area. 

Tenzou felt his whole body turning red as a fire truck, and his eyes flicked around the gathered group, panicked that his boss could be there, or the Director, but he didn’t dare try to identify anyone or he’d probably spontaneously combust, and then they’d have to call the real fire department. 

Officer Hatake gave Tenzou’s hand a small squeeze. “Well, Yamato? You said you couldn’t have dinner with Mr. Fields, but how about having dinner with Kakashi Hatake?”

Tenzou felt steam coming out from under his shirt collar. “Um… no.”

There was a beat of silence that swept through the library.

“No?” the Officer tilted his head, expression baffled.

“I’m sorry, no,” Tenzou repeated, dropping his gaze. He tugged gently on his hand, wanting it returned. “This is my workplace, and I’m on duty–”

“Oh for crying out loud!” Anko bellowed from right beside them, stirring a chorus of squealed protests from the gathered crowds. 

“Take a break and go get a coffee for Pete’s sake!” She pointed to the cafe in the lobby, and to Tenzou’s horror, the gathered crowd started shouting at him to “Go for it! Go for it!” 

Above all this he heard Kotetsu and Izumo whooping and shouting, “Get it Tenz!” 

Even the gathered public patrons were clapping and cheering and pointing in a completely absurd and embarrassing display. Anko started pushing them towards the doors to the lobby. 

“We can survive without you for a little while, so you just go sort this out and don’t come back before, you hear?”

Tenzou had never been so humiliated before, or thrilled, or terrified — he didn’t really know what he was feeling — but Officer Hatake beamed at him and led him by the hand to the lobby and the small cafe.

“How do you like your coffee? Or do you prefer tea?” Officer Hatake asked as they stepped into the line.

Tenzou extricated his hand, and folded his arms across his sweater vest, unsure if his heart would ever calm down. “That’s it? You’re just going to ask me how I like my beverages?”

“Well how else am I supposed to make an order?” 

“I’m not sure I trust you enough to tell you,” Tenzou said.

Officer Hatake clutched his chest. “I’m hurt, Yamato. Surely you can trust me with your beverage preferences.”

“That remains to be seen,” Tenzou replied.

While they looked at the menu on the wall, Tenzou glanced at the Officer and thought back to the times he’d spent with Mr. Fields. He was the right height, and probably the right build, if he’d ever seen Mr. Fields without so many layers. It just… it was so hard to imagine that the person he’d thought of as an old man, a really old man, was actually pretty close to his age, was wildly attractive, and had kind of confessed in the middle of the library. 

He’d never imagined being in this situation. What the hell was he supposed to do? 

They stepped up to order, and the Officer asked for a black drip coffee. Tenzou asked for a hot Chai tea latte, and the Officer paid for the drinks. Tenzou led the way to a small table in the corner of the cafe, one strategically out of sight from the main lobby or library, where they waited for their drinks to be brought over. 

The Officer watched him closely. “I can see that this was more of a shock than I expected.”

Tenzou frowned. “You didn’t expect me to be shocked?”

“Well I did, but I also thought you’d be happy to find out I was okay, and that I’m, well, not homeless. And I’m thirty-one, by the way. For the record.” He chuckled.

Tenzou raised an eyebrow. “Noted. I suppose I am happy that nothing horrible happened to Mr. Fields — to you. But he’s still gone. That’s a little… hard to swallow.”

A cafe clerk brought over their drinks, and Tenzou thanked them. He took the lid off of his latte and blew on it.

“I get what you mean, but it’s not like he’s gone, Yamato. He was me all along — we’re not that different, actually.” The Officer sipped from his cup.

“It really did a number on me when he — when you — got arrested,” Tenzou admitted. “I thought you were in serious danger, and that it was all some big mistake, and I couldn’t find out anything about where they’d taken you, or … it was really terrible.”

Officer Hatake sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. It had to be tough on you, and it was tough for me that I couldn’t warn you or spare you any stress. But it also makes me happy that you wanted to bail me out, or find me a lawyer.” He laughed. “I still have your card. It’s a little bent, but I’ve got it right here.” 

The Officer took out his wallet and fished out Tenzou’s card, proof he was telling the truth. Tenzou chuckled. 

“You know,” the Officer continued. “I could have called your office and just told you about all this that way. But I really care about you, and that just didn’t seem right. I wanted to see you in person and clear the air completely.”

“So you paged me to the busiest part of the library, and caused a big scene at my workplace?” Tenzou said, oozing sarcasm.

“Point taken.” The Officer smiled. “I didn’t want to blindside you in your department, and paging over the intercom is the only thing I could think of to bring you out to a more neutral area, without you thinking it was an emergency.”

Tenzou took a sip of his tea, finding his thought process logical, if awkward. “Well I guess the air is clear, now. I think I can accept that you just played the role of Mr. Fields, and that you’re really a police officer. So, mission accomplished.”

“I don’t know that it’s ‘mission accomplished’ just yet,” said the Officer. He gave Tenzou a wink. “Now I have to convince you to have dinner date with me.”

“Ha!” Tenzou replied. “Not bloody likely.”

“I’m a great catch, you know,” the Officer grinned.

“I thought you were a bearded grandpa until about half an hour ago. No thanks.”

The Officer laughed. “I can grow it back if you want?” 

Tenzou shook his head, laughing. “No thank you. The beard… Just no.”

“Got it,” the Officer grinned. “So when can we have our date?”

“We’re basically strangers, you know. I don’t think a date’s on the menu.” 

The Officer scoffed. “No we’re not, we’ve talked a lot and interacted a lot, and that’s a far cry from strangers. You _know_ me, Yamato. You say you don’t, but you do.”

“I know _Mr. Fields_ ,” Tenzou corrected. “Officer Hatake is a brand new person to me, if you really think about it.”

“How can you say that?”

Tenzou spread his hands. “Look, the man I knew came to the library every day, slept in the Genealogy section, ate junk from gas stations and the convenience store, and stopped by the Teen department for manga every so often. Can you really tell me that you are the same person? You have a job, an important job. So you must have a lot of different daily routines, like your dogs to feed and walk, managing whatever kind of shift schedule cops have, and all the other interests that fill your time. Even if you say you’re the same person as Mr. Fields, you won’t be spending every day here at the library anymore. Everything has changed. So yeah, you’re basically a total stranger that I know very little about, except that you like black coffee, apparently.” 

“Then get to know me,” the Officer said, reaching for Tenzou’s hand once more. “Let’s talk, let’s spend time together, let’s text, email, everything — I want to know you better too, everything about you that you’re willing to share, big, small, or in between. I really like you, Yamato, and I think if you give me a chance you’ll find you might like me too. The real me. What do you say?”

Tenzou’s hand felt abnormally warm where it touched the Officer’s, but it didn’t feel bad. He met the Officer’s keen eyes, and saw sincerity there in the depths.

An old bearded grandpa hadn’t even crossed his radar. But being pursued by a young, _gorgeous_ , athletic civil servant, with a steady income and a home, complete with a pack of dogs, maybe wouldn’t be so bad.

Not that he’d tell him that, of course. That would be too easy.

Tenzou cleared his throat. “Officer Hatake–”

“ _–Kakashi_ , please. Call me Kakashi.”

Tenzou cocked his head. “Hold your horses, _old man_.”

The Officer grinned, and nodded. 

“I think we have to start fresh. From the very beginning.”

“If that’s what you want,” the Officer squeezed his hand. 

“I don’t want you showing up at my workplace unannounced like this again.”

“Got it,” the Officer said, chuckling. “What if I want to check out more manga?”

“Then you can come to the library like any other library patron, and you’ll be treated like any other library patron.”

“Understood.” He smiled.

“And I don’t want you calling me during work hours.”

The Officer lit up. “So then you’re giving me your number?”

Tenzou sighed, and held up his free hand. “I will, against my common sense. But I can’t talk during working hours, and sometimes I won’t be able to respond to texts, so … I guess just don’t be a nuisance, or I’ll have to block you.”

The Officer grinned. “Roger that. Let’s exchange digits right now.”

Tenzou chuckled, and they had to let go of each other’s hands to get out their phones and trade numbers. Once that was finished, the Officer took Yamato’s hand once more.

“I’m really serious about you, Yamato. I want you to know that.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, old man. We’re barely acquaintances.” Tenzou gave him a wry smile. “I really should get back to work.”

“Ah, yes, I guess so,” the Officer laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

They stood up, and there was an awkward moment where Tenzou wasn’t sure if they should shake hands, or just leave–

Officer Hatake made the decision for them, wrapping Tenzou in a cozy hug, that was just the right amount of squeeze, for just the right amount of time. When it ended, Tenzou felt a bit light headed, which is probably why he was unprepared for the Officer to tilt his chin up and plant a tender, warm kiss right on his mouth.

“Bye, Yamato. Talk soon.”

And then he left Tenzou standing there, frozen stiff in the middle of the cafe. Tenzou tried to act like nothing at all had happened, but one of the cafe clerks gave a little whistle, and they promptly dissolved into giggles. 

Tenzou’s face heated up, and he was instantly furious all over again. The _audacity_ of that old man. 

Tenzou beat a hasty retreat back to the safety of his private office within his department, only to discover he’d left his tea behind in the cafe. _Figured_. He slumped into his chair, and touched his philodendron for strength, taking a deep breath. Then he noticed the three bags belonging to “Mr. Fields” that he’d been storing since Black Friday, and realized he’d completely forgotten all about them. 

Tenzou got out his phone, and took a picture of the library books in the tote bag, and intended to text it to Officer Hatake with some scathing comments about lost books and overdue notices — but when he opened his messaging app he saw he’d missed about fifteen texts. 

Tenzou’s eyes boggled. 

Iruka had sent him a flurry of messages — apparently he’d missed the “show” at the Circ desk because he’d been leading a storytime in Children’s, but had heard a bunch of versions of events from the other staff and wanted the deets ASAP. As usual, Iruka’s texts were sprinkled through with friendly blackmail threats and good natured jibing.

Yuugao, Shizune, and Anko had all messaged him for updates on how it went with “hot sex on legs” (Yuugao), “stud muffin cop” (Shizune), and the "guy who could handcuff and bend her over the Circ desk any day” (Anko). Tenzou flushed. They also sent some additional messages wishing him well in his new romance, although Anko took the opportunity to threaten to submit a request to Hana for a recording from the security footage, so she could watch the whole thing again whenever she wanted.

Tenzou truly loved, and hated, all his coworkers.

The most recent text was from Yahiko. “Hey, thinking of you. Dinner tonight?”

 _Oh boy_. Tenzou put his phone down, and laced his fingers behind his head, leaning back in his office chair. He swiveled to look out the window, debating.

A few minutes later, he picked up his phone, and began typing. When he was finished and had sent all his messages, he then stood and straightened his sweater vest. 

Tenzou left his office to check on the teens and their tutoring and video game tournaments, and to see if Shisui needed a break, more excited to embark on all the adventures that could come his way than he had been in a long time.

♦

Epilogue

♦

[Earlier in August]

Kakashi watched the Konoha Public Library come into view as Obito pulled his SUV into the massive parking lot, and into an available spot. It was pretty packed for a Saturday, but he supposed with schools closed for summer vacation, there would be a higher demand for a free, air-conditioned space for families and kids to hang out or read, or whatever other things people did in a library.

They got out of the car, dressed casually even though they were on official police business. As they entered the lobby, Kakashi took off his sunglasses and hooked them in the neck of his polo shirt. 

“Do you know where we’re supposed to meet the Director?” he asked, taking in the layout of the lobby furniture, and the area that made up the cafe.

“She said to go straight to the administration offices, and we’d find her.”

“Okay,” Kakashi said. “Now where is that? This place is much bigger than it looks from the outside”

Obito shrugged. “It’s my first time here. I’ll ask at the desk over there.”

They stepped over to a desk where staff were helping to check out books and DVDs to a line of patrons, and Obito put on his most genial smile, peeking around an older woman to get the attention of the library employee behind the counter who was helping her.

“Hello, excuse me, so sorry to interrupt — could you tell me where library administration is?”

The employee blinked through thick glasses, and then pointed further down in the direction they had been heading. “Turn right at the first corner and you’ll see the door, near the couches.”

“Much appreciated.” Obito waved, and then gave a small bow to the older woman whose service he’d interrupted. 

They walked further into the library until the corner on the right, where they turned and saw a door clearly marked with Library Administration. Kakashi pulled open the door and let Obito precede him. 

“Aha, there you are! Come into my office, where we won’t be interrupted,” said a woman who Kakashi assumed had to be Director Senju.

She turned into a large, well decorated office, with expensive art on the walls, along with several dry erase boards with project details and timelines. Kakashi and Obito exchanged a glance of surprise before following her inside — she was not exactly what they were expecting when they heard she’d been the Director for twenty-five years. She looked barely in her forties, but had a powerful aura that was accentuated by the expensive burgundy pantsuit she wore, a necklace of Jade catching in the dip of her cleavage.

This had less effect on Kakashi than on Obito, who had gone a bit pink around the ears at her womanly proportions. Kakashi smirked, and the two of them sat in the chairs she indicated. 

The meeting was fairly short. The Director had agreed to work with the police who suspected library computers were being used for criminal purposes, and would make accommodations for someone on the police force to go undercover at the library and determine just who was involved.

“We’re here as advance scouts,” Kakashi informed her. “We’ll take a look around the whole building, and check for any potential issues for the undercover subject. Finding the right placement could be difficult depending on what we see today. We also don’t want to raise any suspicions while we’re here.”

“If you need me to arrange for someone to be a temporary employee in the computer lab, that’s not too hard from this end,” said the Director. “I have ways of explaining a new staff member.”

Obito spoke up. “Actually, employees are not the best undercover option, because they may have to choose between their undercover work and the duties to maintain their cover. Since we think something suspicious is going on in the computer lab, if the undercover asset was posing as an employee, they would potentially have to stop and help any customer that came to the desk, and that could delay or even derail the investigation.”

“I see.” The Director tapped her pen on the padfolio on her desk. “So the asset needs to be mobile and unattached to library operations.”

Kakashi nodded. “Ideally yes. One of the benefits of this being a public library is that there are patrons here for long amounts of time, unlike, say, a restaurant or a boutique at the mall. So if someone was here for many hours per day, it wouldn’t look as suspicious.”

The Director grinned. “Hmm, I’ve got the perfect idea — the asset should pose as a homeless patron.”

“Pardon?” Kakashi asked, exchanging a surprised glance with Obito. 

“I’m very serious. I’m not mentioning this to impugn the dignity of our homeless patrons, don’t get me wrong. The library is for everyone — whether you’re living in a mega mansion or experiencing homelessness. All patrons are welcome at the library to use our collections and services.” She sat back in her chair. “However, as I’m sure you’re aware, people experiencing homelessness are often overlooked, ignored, unseen, and rejected by society at large. So while our library, like many others, has a patron group that fits in this category, many other library patrons simply don’t pay attention to these individuals, and they tend to slip under the radar of our casual, occasional users.”

“I see,” Kakashi nodded. “And an undercover asset wouldn’t want to be noticed.”

“Precisely,” the Director said. 

Kakashi turned to Obito. “Detective Nara might be perfect for this. He might want to take the assignment himself.”

Obito nodded, chuckling. “Yeah, I get what you mean.”

The Director waved a hand. “Whoever it is, I’ll need to know with at least a week’s notice so I can set up a false library account and make sure everything is ready.”

“Of course,” Obito agreed.

They continued the discussion, settling on some preliminary plans that Kakashi and Obito could report back to headquarters and Detective Shikaku Nara, who was the lead in the investigation, and who would be assigning the undercover role based on the necessary skills. The Director would be briefing the Assistant Director for Public Services, Hana Inuzuka, on the plans, as the situation could potentially affect library operations should things go sideways, or need to be adjusted based on the intel the undercover operative gathered. 

When they finished covering the basics, they all shook hands. 

“I’ll send floorplans to Detective Nara, but I understand you’ll still need to become familiar with the building and various spaces we have during a typical day of operations. Since you’re here today, I’ll call one of my staff to give you a tour of the building. And if you don’t have a library card, she can issue you one!”

“Yes ma’am,” they said in unison, compelled by her suggestion. 

“Right, just go back out the way you came, and I’ll have Anko Mitarashi, the Circulation Supervisor, meet you at the front desk for the full tour. She won’t know anything about the upcoming operation, of course, but you can ask her anything about the library and our services.”

“Perfect,” Kakashi said.

“Thank you, Director,” said Obito.

They returned the way they had come, and this time they were met with an attractive woman close to their age. She wore a long trench coat ina fabric designed for summer weather, paired with a punk rock hairdo and artsy makeup, and combat boots with fishnet leggings. Kakashi raised a brow; she was probably Obito’s type.

“Hello! I’m Anko, your tour guide!” she grinned, waving, and then openly checking them both out, and looking pleased with what she saw.

Kakashi smirked at Obito’s pink tipped ears, and how he stammered slightly when greeting her. How adorable. He didn’t say much during the tour, choosing to let Obito make the small talk with their guide, while he observed the patrons and staff in the different areas of the library, looking for any opportunities or challenges for whoever would be playing the role of a homeless patron in the near future. 

At the Children’s area, Kakashi hung back out of the way, put off by the cacophony of bright colors, loud noises, and the kids zooming every which way. He saw a rather cute male employee with a brown ponytail trying to keep everything under control, and might have tried to strike up a conversation, but then it was time to move on to the Teen department. 

Teens was located way in the back corner, and as soon as he stepped inside, Kakashi was intrigued by the difference in decor and layout — it had a totally different feel from the rest of the library that he found very appealing. Kakashi looked around at the beanbag chairs and other details, and found himself wishing he’d had a place like this to hang out when he was a teenager.

“Hello, cousin Obito.”

Kakashi swiveled around and saw none other than Itachi Uchiha sitting at the service desk. His brows shot up. He’d never expected to see someone he knew, even if he pretty much only knew Itachi just in passing.

“Itachi!” Obito greeted his cousin with an affectionate head pat, that from the look on the kid’s face Kakashi suspected Itachi didn’t appreciate it too much.

“You two know each other?” asked Anko.

“Yeah, he’s my cousin,” Obito answered. “Distantly anyways… it’s complicated,” he laughed, scratching his head.

“I see,” Anko smiled. She turned to Itachi. “So where is everyone? It’s really dead here for a Saturday.”

“Today is the ‘Book to Screen’ event in the auditorium. It should be finishing up about now, if you wanted to check it out.” Itachi replied.

Anko snapped her fingers. “Oh yeah! That’s right, I did see Tenzou dressed up earlier and wondered what he was doing here on his day off. Thanks, we’ll go check it out!”

She motioned for Obito and Kakashi to follow her, and they waved goodbye to Itachi on their way out.

“What’s ‘Book to Screen?’” Obito asked.

Kakashi tuned out most of the explanation, something about the teens doing a group project to read a book and then make a short movie from the plotline, something like that. 

Anko led them out of the library and into the lobby, where she showed them some of the meeting rooms, and then took them to the auditorium at the very end of the lobby. She put a finger to her lips to warn them to be quiet, and then they slipped into the auditorium, trying not to disturb the event. 

The space was impressive, and most of the seats were filled with teenagers and their families — it was a much bigger event than Kakashi expected, though it turned out that they had missed the final film showing. The stage was lined with shimmering curtains, and bisected by a red carpet from one side to the other. Off to one side stood the master of ceremonies, a very attractive man in a black bow-tie and a tuxedo vest holding a microphone, and calling out the names of the kids who had just shown their movie production.

Kakashi took in his short brown hair with a few wavy cowlicks that fell effortlessly across his brow, and the most attractive, striking eyes that held him captivated at first sight. As the man announced each participant, his voice swelled with pride, which struck a chord with all who heard it. 

When the teens came up to the front of the stage, the man presented them with a six-inch trophy that looked like an Oscar statue, but had the library’s logo on it, and the teens’ faces simply radiated their delight as they accepted the award and shared their remarks. 

“Those are 3D printed,” Anko leaned closer to whisper. “We made the awards in-house for this event. The teens love it.”

Kakashi clapped for each participant along with the parents and families, and found it especially adorable when the teens hugged the man in the vest, because the man got all flustered and flushed. It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

“Who’s that?” Kakashi asked Anko.

“You mean the emcee?” She pointed at the man in the vest, and Kakashi nodded. “That’s the Teen department supervisor, Tenzou Yamato. Itachi’s boss. He’s in charge of this whole event. It’s one of the most popular all year.”

“I see,” Kakashi murmured, transfixed. 

Tenzou Yamato was well built, about Kakashi’s same height, the right age, attractive in all the best ways — but that wasn’t it, exactly. Kakashi was a good observer, and there was just something compelling, or magnetic about this guy, something sincere, responsible, and giving, that drew Kakashi to him in a significant way.

He listened as Yamato got a bit choked up while giving the closing speech, and finally invited everyone up onto the stage for pictures and so forth. The room dissolved into a happy pandemonium that didn’t fray Kakashi’s nerves quite like the Children’s department, and instead seemed so… wholesome. His chest tightened, like an arrow had just pierced through.

Maybe it was irrational, but Kakashi knew right then that he wanted to get to know this interesting person a lot better, this librarian who worked with teens, and helped them to grow and to shine. He wanted to be able to see him every day. He needed to — he was already hooked. 

This fantasy wouldn’t ordinarily be possible, however there was a unique opportunity coming up for him to do just that — if he could convince the Detective to assign him the undercover job. It was the career move he’d been waiting for, too. After all, how hard could it be to play a homeless man at the library, anyway? 

Kakashi watched Yamato avidly until Anko suggested they move along so she could issue their library cards. Even then Kakashi stood there for an extra minute, just to admire how the man interacted with the parents as well as the teens, now that everyone was on their feet and crowding around Yamato and the other library staff running the event, everyone’s excitement and joy palpable in the room.

“See you later, Yamato,” he said softly, and exited the auditorium, calculating how quickly he could grow out his beard.

—

Ω

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this huge fic - I hope you enjoyed! Tenzou and Kakashi's love story is just beginning, so I look forward to posting the next installments of this series! The rating will definitely go up, in case you were wondering, 'cause I'd never leave you hanging, I promise. ♥


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